The Thread provides in-depth consultancies, and research capabilities to address key issues in the promotion of human development. We look for ways of generating knowledge that support a robust and sustainable policy environment in our key areas of work. We are committed to working with government agencies, parliamentary and special interest groups, civil society and non-governmental organisations in shaping public policy debates. We also provide a neutral political and ideological platform through which to negotiate the policy making environment to build intellectual foundations for the future.
Empowerment is difficult to realise without economic security. We advocate for viable and productive livelihoods supported by decent wages, social security, in-job training and further education.
Informing good policymaking relies on the ability of citizens to take up their civic and political rights. These rights, however, pre-suppose an absence of discrimination based on an inalienable part of a person’s identity. Our goal is to identify areas where the exercise of choice is curtailed by bias or discriminatory practices
Gender-based violence is a pervasive and deeply entrenched reality. It denies dignity, security, and a right to one's own bodily integrity. The socio-economic manifestations of violence, sexual abuse and exploitation, plus global commerce of persons for the purposes of sexual bondage cut across many areas of public concern. We are committed to working with our partner agencies toward advancing the right to a life free from harm.
The issues featured here are interrelated and touch on areas of progress, controversy, and urgency that affect other areas of public policy. We work through a framework of feminist economics. Feminist economics is not economics for women, but a way of critically analysing the logical coherence of economics as a system of knowledge. Economics is organised along political, ideological, and power-based lines. Economics is not a disembodied and ahistorical account of the ways things are, nor does it account for, or explain inequalities. Please browse our Policy Papers section for our most recent publications, and the Online Journal for more information and inspiration.