Valerie Lacarte, Ph.D.

About Valerie Lacarte

Valerie is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. She conducts empirical analysis for research projects related to the Future of Work, entrepreneurship, and the Student Parent Success Initiative. Prior to joining IWPR, Valerie had more than seven years of experience doing research and project implementation for development organizations, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Organization of American States. Valerie has worked and lived in several countries of Latin America and the Caribbean and is fluent in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole. She has also been an Adjunct Instructor at American University, George Mason University and University of Mary Washington where she taught Economic Theory, Business and Society, and Gender Economics. Valerie has a PhD in Economics from American University. Her dissertation combined quantitative and qualitative data to analyze immigrant labor outcomes while considering the intersectionality of gender, race, ethnicity and culture.

Latinas Projected to Reach Equal Pay in 2220

Latinas have made important strides in education, business creation, and political engagement. In recent decades, they have significantly increased their high school graduation rate and representation in teaching, law, medicine, and management professions. Yet in 2019, the average Latina earned only 55.4 percent of White non-Latino men’s earnings.

Women’s Median Earnings as a Percent of Men’s, 1985–2019 (Full-Time, Year-Round Workers) with Projections for Pay Equity, by Race/Ethnicity

Notes: Estimates presented for All Women are based on [...]

Women’s Median Earnings as a Percent of Men’s, 1960–2019 (Full-Time, Year-Round Workers) with Projections for Pay Equity in 2059

Women’s Median Earnings as a Percent of Men’s Median Earnings, 1960-2019 (Full-time, Year-round Workers) with Projection for Pay Equity in 2059

Holding Up Half the Sky: Mothers as Workers, Primary Caregivers, & Breadwinners During COVID-19

In the United States, women now make up more than 50 percent of the workforce, reflecting growth in health care, education, and service sectors over the last decade. The decline of the wages and real earnings of all workers over time coupled with the rise in cost of living expenses, such as housing, means that the income and earnings of women are critical to the overall economic security and wellbeing of families.

Breadwinner Mothers by Race/Ethnicity

The large majority of mothers in the United States are in the labor force making their economic contribution vital for their families’ economic security. One in two of the over 30 million families with children under 18 in the United States have a breadwinner mother, who is either a single mother, irrespective of earnings, or a married mother contributing at least 40 percent of the couple’s joint earnings;

By Ariane Hegewisch and Valerie Lacarte|2020-07-24T15:47:28-05:00May 8, 2020|Quick Figure, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Economy|Comments Off on Breadwinner Mothers by Race/Ethnicity

Gender Inequality, Work Hours, and the Future of Work

Gender differences in paid and unpaid time at work are an important aspect of gender inequality. Women tend to spend more time on unpaid household and family care work, and men spend more time in paid work. This unequal distribution of time creates barriers to women’s advancement at work and reduces women’s economic security.

By Ariane Hegewisch and Valerie Lacarte|2020-08-26T16:40:38-05:00November 14, 2019|Economic, Security, Mobility, and Equity, Report|Comments Off on Gender Inequality, Work Hours, and the Future of Work

Women’s Median Earnings as a Percent of Men’s, 1985-2018 (Full-time, Year-Round Workers) with Projections for Pay Equity, by Race/Ethnicity

Source: IWPR analysis of data from P-38 Historical Income [...]

By Valerie Lacarte and Jeff Hayes|2020-11-02T18:29:51-05:00November 5, 2019|Economic, Security, Mobility, and Equity, Quick Figure|Comments Off on Women’s Median Earnings as a Percent of Men’s, 1985-2018 (Full-time, Year-Round Workers) with Projections for Pay Equity, by Race/Ethnicity

Women’s Median Earnings as a Percent of Men’s Median Earnings, 1960 to 2018—with Projection for Pay Equity in 2059

Women’s Median Earnings as a Percent of Men’s Median Earnings, 1960-2018 (Full-Time, Year-Round Workers) with Projection for Pay Equity in 2059

The Well-Being of Women in Utah in 2019

The percentage of women working part-time in Utah is still the highest in the nation. Business ownership and representation in professional and managerial positions among Utah women are also increasing, more Utah women now live above the poverty line, and women in Utah have made great strides in education attainment; however, the progress in these areas is markedly different when race and ethnicity are taken into account.

By Valerie Lacarte|2020-08-27T01:31:27-05:00August 12, 2019|Fact Sheet, Status of Women|0 Comments