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Sociology Research

 

Rijak holds an MSc in International Development from the London School of Economics (LSE) and an MPhil in Sociology from the University of Cambridge.  Prior to starting her PhD, Rijak worked at the United Nations on women’s employment and at the World Bank as a Labour Specialist.  She is a co-author of the IFC Jobs Study which launched a multi-million-dollar partnership of 28 leading international finance institutions called “Let’s Work” to address job creation in developing countries.

Research Interests

Rijak is interested in issues of gender, labour, and migration in Africa.  Her current research looks at the effects of formal employment on rural female-headed households in West Africa.

Teaching

Director of Studies, Economics, Murray Edwards College

 

Undergraduate courses taught:

SOC 1 Introduction to Sociology: Modern Societies I
SOC 10  Sociology of Gender
SOC 12 Empire, colonialism, imperialism
Econ part II B

Key Publications - Journal Articles

Grover, R.  2019. Far from the Factory? Investigating how women travel to work in rural Cote d’Ivoire. Journal of International Women's Studies, 20 (4), 24-38.

International Labour Organization (ILO). 2012. “Haiti Baseline Data Report:  Workers Perspectives from the Factory and Beyond”.  ILO, Geneva.

Key Publications - Other

The World Bank.  2015.  The Business Case for Better Working Conditions.  Washington, D.C:  World Bank Group.

The World Bank. 2017.  Strategic Country Diagnostic for Benin.  Washington, D.C:  World Bank Group

The World Bank. 2015.  Strategic Country Diagnostic for Tunisia.  Washington, D.C:  World Bank Group

The World Bank.  2014. (ed) “Maroc et Tunisie: Développement de la main d'oeuvre”.  Washington, D.C:  World Bank Group

Grants and Projects

Cambridge Political Economy Trust (CPEST) Grant 2019 and 2020

Magdalene College Graduate Tutors Grant for PhD fieldwork in Benin

Murray Edwards College travel grant (2016-2017) for field research to Cote d’Ivoire

Murray Edwards College Gateway funding for the study of Italian (2017)

Media Articles

Research Groups & Affiliations

Additional Information

2018:   Expert interview. “Why is Social Capital declining in Britain?”  BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

July 2020:  Podcast host, “Productivity and the Female Economist during COVID-19”.  Cambridge Centre for International Research.

Job Title:
ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow 2022-23, Murray Edwards College
Contact Information: