Publications

The Gendered Dynamics of Income Security: How Social Science Research Can Identify Pathways Out of Poverty and Toward Economic Security
by Courtney Kishbaugh and Jeffrey Hayes, Ph.D. (May 2013)

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) addressed issues of women, poverty and income security issues from its beginnings. IWPR’s first publication on these topics, Low-Wage Jobs and Workers: Trends and Options for Change (published in 1989), finds a growing share of adults working in low-wage jobs and a growing share of families relying on low-wage work for a major share of family income. It also finds that women and people of color are far more likely to work in low-wage jobs than white males. Federal or federally-funded data sets analyzed for the study included the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and the Panel Study on Income Dynamics (PSID). Low-Wage Jobs and Workers, a report funded by the U.S. Department of Labor and jointly disseminated with the non-profit Women Work! (then the National Displaced Homemakers Network), became the first of many influential policy pieces centered on poverty and income security. Since then, IWPR has continued to expand its research on poverty issues, focusing primarily on the topics of Social Security and older women’s economic security, welfare reform and its impact on women and children, the impact of unemployment on low-income women and their families, and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast region. IWPR’s work has shed light on the experiences and needs of particularly vulnerable and underserved communities, inspired national and international conversations about these issues, and informed policy change.

Breaking the Social Security Glass Ceiling: A Proposal to Modernize Women's Benefits
by Carol Estes, Terry O'Neill, and Heidi Hartmann (May 2012)

This report examines the valuable role women play as caregivers to both their children and to their aging parents. It looks at the impact of widowhood, and the difference in life expectancy between men and women and how that affects a growing number of older women --espeically those over age 86-- who are living below the poverty line. And it examines the special role that Social Security plays in meeting the income security needs of women from communities of color.

Importance of Social Security by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Marital Status, 2010
by The Institute for Women's Policy Research (April 2012)

Can Boomer Women Afford to Retire?
by Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D. (February 2012)

Talking Points on Retirement and Social Security
by Cynthia Hess (January 2012)

Talking Points on Retirement and Social Security

The Impact of the Great Recession on Older Women and Men
by Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D. (October 2011)

Retirement on the Edge: Women, Men, and Economic Insecurity After the Great Recession
by Cynthia Hess, Ph.D., Jeff Hayes, Ph.D. and, Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D. (September 2011)

The IWPR/Rockefeller Survey addressed the extent of economic security almost a year and a half after the recession officially ended. Many of the survey’s findings are detailed in the report, Women and Men Living On the Edge: Economic Insecurity After the Great Recession (Hayes and Hartmann 2011). This report analyzes a specific aspect of the IWPR/Rockefeller Survey’s findings: issues related to retirement security following the recession. It finds that men and women after the Great Recession experience uncertainty about the adequacy of their financial resources for the proverbial “golden years,” an uncertainty that may shape how they view the meaning of retirement and their own decisions about the future.

Most Americans Think the Growth of Social Security Spending Should Not Be Cut to Reduce the Deficit
by Institute for Women's Policy Research (September 2011)

Pension Crediting for Caregivers: Policies in Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan
by Elaine Fultz, Ph.D. (June 2011)

Six Key Facts on Women and Social Security
by IWPR (June 2011)

Social Security and Black Women
by Institute for Women's Policy Research (May 2011)

Latinas and Social Security
by Jeffrey Hayes, Ph.D., Youngmin Yi, and Heather Berg (April 2011)

Social Security is a crucial source of income for many Americans. This is particularly true for women and people of color, who tend to have fewer alternative sources of income, experience higher poverty rates, and earn less on average throughout their working years (Hartmann, Hayes, and Drago 2011).

Figures Excerpted from the Report, Social Security Especially Vital to Women and People of Color, Men Increasingly Reliant
by Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D., Jeff Hayes, Ph.D., Robert Drago, Ph.D. (February 2011)

Social Security: Especially Vital to Women and People of Color, Men Increasingly Reliant
by Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D., Jeff Hayes, Ph.D. and Robert Drago, Ph.D. (January 2011)

Social Security is the bedrock of retirement income for older Americans. IWPR analysis of the 2010 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) shows that Social Security remains the largest source of income for older Americans.

Women’s Economic Security in the Labor Market and in Retirement
by Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D. (July 2010)

The Importance of Social Security Benefits to Women
by Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D. (May 2010)

Who Are Social Security Beneficiaries? (Updated)
by Ashley English and Sunhwa Lee, Ph.D. (March 2010)

Social Security: Vital to Retirement Security for 35 Million Women and Men
by Jeff Hayes, Ph.D., Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D., and Sunhwa Lee, Ph.D. (February 2010)

Women and Social Security: Benefit Types and Eligibility
by Ashley English and Sunhwa Lee, Ph.D. (February 2010)

Women and Entitlements
by Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D. (January 2009)