Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D.

About Heidi Hartmann

Heidi Hartmann is the President Emerita and Senior Research Economist at the Washington-based Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), a scientific research organization that she founded in 1987 to meet the need for women-centered, policy-oriented research. Dr. Hartmann is also a Distinguished Economist In-Residence for Gender and Economic Analysis at American University and serves as the Editor of the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy. Dr. Hartmann lectures internationally on women, economics, and public policy; frequently testifies before the U.S. Congress; and is often cited as an authority in various media outlets, such as CNN, ABC News, The New York Times, and PBS NewsHour. She has published numerous articles in journals and books and her work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. She is a co-author of several IWPR reports, including Women’s and Men’s Employment and Unemployment in the Great Recession; Still A Man’s Labor Market: The Long-Term Earnings Gap; Unnecessary Losses: Costs to Americans of the Lack of Family and Medical Leave; Equal Pay for Working Families, and Strengthening Social Security for Women. She served as Chair of the Board of the American Academy of Political Science, and Treasurer of the National Council of Women’s Organizations. Prior to founding IWPR, Dr. Hartmann was on the faculties of Rutgers University and the New School for Social Research and worked at the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. In 1994, Dr. Hartmann was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship Award for her work in the field of women and economics. She is an economist with a B.A. from Swarthmore College and M. Phil and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University, all in economics. She is the recipient of two honorary degrees. She was named a Charlotte Perkins Gilman Fellow by the American Academy of Political and Social Science in 2014, and in 2017 she received the Distinguished Career Award from the American Sociological Association.

The Minimum Wage Increase a Working Woman’s Issue

Equal pay is a fundamental issue affecting working families. While the number of women workers in the labor force has steadily increased, the contribution of women's wages to family income has also grown, with women's earnings now providing a significant portion of total household income.

By Heidi Hartmann, Katherine Allen and Christine Owens|2020-11-12T05:57:48-05:00June 1, 1990|IWPR|Comments Off on The Minimum Wage Increase a Working Woman’s Issue

Low-Wage Work, Health Benefits, and Family Well-Being

Departing from the outmoded view that only male breadwinners need earn a wage adequate to support a family, a study by IWPR examines the adequacy of wages and benefits of all adult workers for family support.

By Roberta Spalter-Roth, Heidi Hartmann and Linda Andrews|2020-11-25T03:06:30-05:00March 1, 1990|IWPR|Comments Off on Low-Wage Work, Health Benefits, and Family Well-Being

Mothers, Children, and Low-Wage Work: The Ability to Earn a Family Wage

The most frequently mentioned cause of the feminization of poverty is the change in family structure-thee increase in divorce, nonmarital births, and independent households established by women (McLanahan et al. 1989; Pearce 1989).

By Roberta Spalter-Roth, Heidi Hartmann and Nancy Collins|2020-11-14T00:56:26-05:00August 1, 1989|IWPR|Comments Off on Mothers, Children, and Low-Wage Work: The Ability to Earn a Family Wage

Unnecessary Losses: Costs to Americans in the States of the Lack of Family and Medical Leave

Despite widespread agreement that employment policies should be responsive to the needs of working families, Congress is currently engaged in debate about a national leave policy that would require minimum protections against job loss because of family and medical needs.

By Roberta Spalter-Roth and Heidi Hartmann|2020-11-15T00:43:00-05:00August 1, 1989|IWPR|Comments Off on Unnecessary Losses: Costs to Americans in the States of the Lack of Family and Medical Leave

Recent Wage Developments in Telecommunications: An Example from the Northeast

This briefing paper is one of a series of occasional papers by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) on the status of women workers in the communications and other service industries.

By Roberta Spalter-Roth, Heidi Hartmann and Linda Andrews|2021-01-07T02:33:34-05:00August 1, 1989|IWPR|Comments Off on Recent Wage Developments in Telecommunications: An Example from the Northeast

High Skill and Low Pay: The Economics of Child Care Work

In the midst of a debate over the cost and quality of child care and the appropriate public role in its provision, this paper documents the current situation of child care workers.

By Heidi Hartmann and Diana Pierce|2020-11-23T23:40:42-05:00January 1, 1989|IWPR|Comments Off on High Skill and Low Pay: The Economics of Child Care Work