SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

The world’s economy is a complex interconnected system. Fostering good, meaningful work is important for the livelihood of individuals across the planet. A robust economy helps to alleviate joblessness and makes households more sustainable.

Check out the resources collected below that lifts up the importance of decent work from faculty, staff and guest lectures here at UB.

This webinar will discuss investor financing and the challenges women and minorities face seeking financing, examples of organizations finding parity, and possible solutions for both investors and founders.

Dr. Philip Hong describes his work exploring how welfare reform efforts play out through the eyes and in the lives of people living them. Utilizing a social justice and person-in-environment perspective, he discusses what he is learning about the role of hope and psychological self-sufficiency as articulated by client recipients. (School of Social Work, 12/3/18)

When asked about the word "entrepreneurship," most people are likely to think about business-oriented activities, perhaps, more specifically, using business innovation as a route to develop or enhance a business enterprise. However, most people probably have not considered using social consciousness as a foundation for engaging in entrepreneurial activities. In this podcast, Professors Rukshan Fernando and Andy Germak will explore using entrepreneurship as a method to address social change. (School of Social Work, 7/7/14)

Scholarly literature and practice experience have shown that low-income people around the world can use credit responsibly, make timely payments, and save to make their lives more manageable. In this episode, Dr. Wonhyung Lee, Meera Bhat, and Nurul Widyaningrum discuss the range of financial services called microfinance, which provides low-income persons access to affordable and quality financial services to promote empowerment and the building of assets. (UB School of Social Work, 10/24/16)

Dr. Medha Samant discusses the history and implementation of Annapurna Pariwar, a group of five developmental organizations working in India since 1993. Its goal and mission is to empower poor women and their families related to their finances, education, and health. Dr. Samant describes how she optimizes social workers' skill sets in service to the mission and how she overcame institutional resistance to microfinance efforts to empower the poor. (UB School of Social Work, 5/21/18)