CITILab addresses different dimensions of inequality related to access to employment opportunities. The project investigates in particular the disadvantages of three groups of people: the long-term unemployed, people with disabilities, and low skilled working women, which are often marginalised, voiceless, and neglected by policies and research. 

Although gender inequality has been the subject of numerous studies, the combination of multiple dimensions of vulnerability (e.g. long-term unemployed women, women with disabilities at work, long-term unemployed persons with disabilities) is little explored. Regarding gender inequality, the project focuses on two specific factors that contribute to women’s disadvantages in employment: lack of skills and motherhood. CITILab focuses on low-skilled women and working mothers to propose targeted policy solutions to address their needs.

CITILab also investigates the cumulative nature of these forms of inequality, linking them to two additional factors that are redefining labour markets:

– the impact of digitisation on the labour market and the need to develop specific digital skills programmes targeted for the long-term unemployed, workers with disabilities and low-skilled mothers;

– the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on these vulnerable groups, which has affected more some (low-skilled) occupations in the service sectors – that cannot be performed remotely – and women, as they often have care responsibilities, and people with disability, suffering for additional isolation during the pandemic.