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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:
Women’s Work Supports, Job Retention, and Job Mobility: Child Care and Employer-Provided Health Insurance Help Women Stay on Job
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:
New York State View
South Carolina View
Georgia View
Arizona View
Michigan View
Indiana, 2006: Highlights View
Ohio View
The Best and Worst State Economies for Women
(National Briefing Paper)
View | Order Online
The Economic Status of Women in the States examines women’s economic status, state by state, in five key areas:
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:
Presentations:
Immigrant Women and the Economy
Presented by Dr. Heidi Hartmann at an April 16, 2010 Congressional Briefing on immigrant women and comprehensive immigration reform sponsored by Legal Momentum.
Fact Sheets:
The Gender Wage Ratio: Women’s and Men’s Earnings
Government Data from 200 shows no progress on the wage gap. Click here to view the new census report.
The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation
Unemployment Among Single Mother Families
Reports:
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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Examining the Impact of Consent Decree Remedies on Sex and Race Discrimination in the Workplace
IWPR, in collaboration with The WAGE Project, Inc., examined consent decree remedies for sex and race discrimination in the workplace. Consent decrees are court approved settlements of law suits where the defendant does not admit guilt but agrees to the implementation of a set of measures to remedy and prevent future occurrence of potentially unlawful practices. In employment discrimination cases, in addition to individual relief (such as monetary damages for the person(s) who brought the discrimination claim), consent decrees typically mandate organizational remedies such as sexual harassment training, the introduction of new grievance procedures, supervisory training or revised performance management, and reward schemes. The research focused on the design and impact of organizational remedies on changing workplace conditions through developing a database of approximately 500 consent decrees that became effective between the years 2000 and 2008, and by conducting in-depth studies of a small number of highly innovative consent decrees in order to better describe best practices for using consent decrees to improve working conditions and eradicate discrimination based on race and sex from the workplace.
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The Benefits of Unionization for Women Workers
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.
Solving the Nursing Shortage through Higher Wages
Making the Right Call: Jobs and Diversity in the Communications and Media Sector
The Benefits of Unionization for Workers in the Retail Food Industry
Report :: Research-in-Brief
I Knew I Could Do This Work:Seven Strategies that Promote Women's Activism and Leadership in Unions
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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
Learn more about IWPR's project linking child care and economic development
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