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Job Quality
IWPR is examining the quality of jobs held by different groups of workers, with a particular focus on low-wage workers. This research project explores access to traditional employment benefits such as vacation leave and health insurance, as well as the adequacy of workers' participation in "family-friendly" policies such as paid time off to care for sick family members, flextime, and child care assistance. In addition to a research review and analysis of U.S. Department of Labor data on employee benefits, IWPR is conducting public education activities and forums for disseminating information about the need for and benefits of new job quality policies to policy makers, business leaders, researchers, advocates, and the public.
Select Publications:
NEW REPORT!--Solving the Nursing Shortage through Higher Wages
Paid Sick Days Improve Public Health by Reducing the Spread of Disease
Valuing Good Health and Valuing Good Health in Massachusetts
No Time to Be Sick: Why Everyone Suffers When Workers Don’t Have Paid Sick Leave
Women’s Work Supports, Job Retention, and Job Mobility: Child Care and Employer-Provided Health Insurance Help Women Stay on Jobs
Staying Employed: Trends in Medicaid, Child Care, and Head Start in Ohio
More...
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Women's Economic Status in the States
Women have made tremendous progress toward gaining economic equality during the last several decades. Nonetheless, throughout the United States, women earn less, are less likely to own a business, and are more likely to live in poverty than men. Disparities abound regionally and by state, and, even more profoundly, race and ethnicity continue to shape women’s economic opportunities.
The Economic Status of Women in the States examines women’s economic status, state by state, in five key areas:
- Women’s earnings
- The gender wage ratio
- The percent of women in managerial and professional occupations
- Women’s business ownership
- Women’s poverty
> View the report
> Also see The Status of Women in the States website
Gains in Learning, Gaps in Earnings: A Guide to State and National Data
by AAUW
Reports and an online resource released by the American Association of University Women analyzes women’s educational status in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Prepared in partnership with IWPR.
> View the online resource and related materials.
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Trends in Women's Earnings and Employment
IWPR publishes occasional analyses of trends in women’s employment, job loss, earnings, and well-being and the impact of the business cycle on women’s employment outcomes. Please see the following resources:
NEW REPORT!--Making the Right Call: Jobs and Diversity in the Communications and Media Sector
The Gender Wage Ratio: Women’s and Men’s Earnings
Persistent Inequalities: New Census Data Show High Poverty, Lack of Health Coverage, and Continuing Gender Wage Gap
In Our Own Backyards: Local and State Strategies to Improve the Quality of Family Child Care
African American Women Work More, Earn Less: New Census Data Show Economic and Educational Status of African American Women Still Lags Far Behind White Women
Women & the Economy: Recent Trends in Job Loss, Labor Force Participation, and Wages
Still a Man's Labor Market: The Long-Term Earnings Gap
Statement by IWPR on the BLS Decision to Discontinue Data Collection on Women’s Employment
Why Privatizing Government Services Would Hurt Women Workers
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The Benefits of Unionization for Workers in the Retail Food Industry
Study Director Vicky Lovell completed an analysis of Current Population Survey data that examined the benefits of unionization for workers in the retail grocery industry, under a grant from the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW). This project analyzed differences in earnings and benefits between unionized and non-unionized workers in selected occupations in the retail food industry. Analysis indicated that the positive effects of unionization were independent of demographic and workforce characteristic differences between unionized and nonunionized workers. The findings of this project are available online.
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Child Care Worker Wage Initiatives in the States: Assessing Programs Targeted to Decreasing Child Care Worker Turnover
Stable relationships between qualified early care and education teachers and children are a key ingredient for high-quality child care. Unfortunately, the low wages paid to early care and education practitioners force many of the most qualified to leave their programs for better paying jobs. To address this issue, many states are adopting strategies that provide wage supplements to early care and education staff, based on education and tenure, hoping that these income incentives will keep the best in the field.
With funding from A L. Mailman Family Foundation, the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, IWPR researchers reviewed state and local child care initiatives that have been formally evaluated and analyzed which wage initiatives were most appropriate for reducing staff turnover and increasing staff quality. The report and results are now available online:
Building a Stronger Child Care Workforce: A Review of Studies of the Effectiveness of Public Compensation Initiatives
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