COVID 19 and Recovery Response
In these unprecedented times, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) is committed to communicating and addressing the challenges women are facing. IWPR’s new research outlines how policymakers can address the immediate and long term needs of women, their families, and their communities in policy responses to the pandemic.
Coronavirus forces rethinking of safety net for working women
The coronavirus pandemic has been devastating for working women, but one prominent women's policy expert says it could provide a new opportunity to create the kinds of social supports they should have had all along. Driving the news: In an interview with "Axios on HBO," Nicole Mason, president and CEO of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, said the pandemic has created a "she-cession" — a loss of jobs that has disproportionately affected women and highlighted the gaps in the safety [...]
July Jobs Report Shows Unemployment Fell Slightly for Women, but Remains Historically High
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug 10, 2020 Contact: Keri Potts | 202-785-5100 | potts@iwpr.org Washington, D.C.—New jobs figures from July show much less job growth than in the previous month, and while women were the majority of those who gained jobs, they continue to face a higher jobs deficit than men. In addition, concerning disparities continue by race, ethnicity, and age: Women’s payroll jobs are 6.9 million (9 percent) below pre-COVID levels; men’s are 6 million (7.8 percent) lower. The unemployment [...]
Paid Leave Victory for DC Families
Believe it or not, there is some light in the COVID-19 darkness for working families trying to hang on to their jobs while caring for themselves or family members in a pandemic. As of July 1, 2020, DC Paid Family Leave provides workers employed by private employers in the District with benefits lasting up to eight weeks per year to bond with a new child, six weeks per year to care for a family member with a serious health [...]
IWPR’s Nicole Mason On the Frontlines
This past Saturday, IWPR President & CEO, C. Nicole Mason, Ph.D. got the opportunity to talk to CBS This Morning about the damaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on wages and employment for women of color and especially women with children. As most childcare centers remain closed, and women in the service, education, and health services sector have experienced the greatest job loss, Nicole said, "When you couple that with the pay gap and the, you [...]
Halting Recovery Leaves Women’s Unemployment in Double Digits, and Women’s Payroll Employment Still 6.9 Million Below Pre-Crisis Levels
New jobs figures from July show much less job growth than in the previous month, and while women were the majority of those who gained jobs, they continue to face a higher jobs deficit than men, according to the U.S. Bureau for Labor Statistics latest Employment Situation release.
The ‘shecession’: why economic crisis is affecting women more than men
From February to May, 11.5 million women lost their jobs compared with 9 million men – underlining how women are more vulnerable to sudden losses of income By Amanda Holpuch C Nicole Mason, president and chief executive of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), said: “We didn’t do enough in the 2008 recession to make sure there was an even recovery, and what I am hoping this time around is that we learn those hard lessons and we make [...]