As a leading think-tank focusing on gender equity issues, intersectionality is a core value of IWPR. Intersectionality applies a lens to how systems of inequality based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, class, and other forms of discrimination intertwine to create unique dynamics and experiences. In our research and policy work, IWPR uses the tool of intersectionality to observe and analyze inequities.

In honor of Black History Month, IWPR recognizes the importance of lifting up Black women’s experiences. Since women’s experiences are not a monolith; it is important to explore the experiences of Black women while examining the interconnectedness of racism, sexism, classism, and other social inequalities. Illuminating these experiences is integral to advancing Black women’s rights and economic justice.

Today, IWPR is dedicated to spotlighting the experiences of Black women by highlighting our research centering on Black women in the key issue areas below— employment, education, and economic change:

• Black Women Were Paid Less than 70 Percent of What White Men Were Paid in Almost Every State
• Shortchanged and Underpaid: Black Women and the Pay Gap
• Back to the Future: Black Women’s Equal Pay is 100 Years Too Late
• Black Women to Reach Equal Pay with White Men in 2130
• Increasing Black Women’s Access to Education and Economic Power
• Student Debt is a Crisis for Women, and Black Women Bear the Greatest Burden
• Digitalization, Automation, and Older Black Women: Ensuring Equity in the Future of Work

And on health, safety and income security IWPR has published:

• The Wage Gap for Black Women by State
• Almost a Year and Half Later, Black Women Continue to Be Hard-Hit by the Pandemic

In the coming months, IWPR will be rolling out additional research centering Black women, including an upcoming research project focused on advancing equity in education for Black single mothers in college. Black single mother students face a myriad of barriers to obtaining college degrees, including microaggressions, systemic racial and gender inequities, lack of access to childcare, and crippling student debt. Our research (funded by the ECMC foundation) will contribute to a growing body of research aimed at improving college completion rates and overall life outcomes for single mother students. As Black women have traditionally played a pivotal role in their families and communities, advancing education for Black single mothers will improve the lives of their families and communities.