COVID-19 and Recovery Response
As the pandemic enters its third year and the nation turns to recovery, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research is committed to amplifying and addressing the challenges women face. IWPR’s new research provides insights and recommendations for policymakers to help meet the urgent and long-term needs of women, their families, and their communities.
Will Biden’s Stimulus Package Help Reverse the ‘Shecession’?
By Alisha Haridasani Gupta From the get go, this economic crisis has been markedly different from previous ones: It wasn’t caused by geopolitical or financial forces, and it disproportionately affected women. A bulk of the jobs that vanished at the start of the coronavirus pandemic were held by women — particularly women of color — who worked in service industries like hospitality, travel, retail and entertainment. The downward trend held through the year, with more than 800,000 women dropping out [...]
IWPR Statement on President-Elect Biden’s American Rescue Plan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 14, 2021 Contact: Erin Weber | 646-719-7021 | weber@iwpr.org IWPR Statement—The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) applauds the Biden Administration’s ambitious $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that will provide needed economic support to struggling families and the workers who have been most impacted by the pandemic. The comprehensive plan includes direct cash payments to households, the extension of unemployment insurance, child care supports, housing and nutrition assistance, and an increase in the minimum wage, among [...]
Unemployment Claims Are Rising as the Pandemic Surges
By Peter Wade The jobs crisis in the U.S. is worsening as weekly unemployment claims reached a five-month high, according to new unemployment numbers released by the Department of Labor. Almost 1.4 million people filed initial jobless claims for the week ending January 9th, which is many more than economists expected. The number of continued jobless claims also exceeded economists’ expectations, reaching nearly 5.3 million compared to the expected 5 million. As of the end of last month, there were [...]
US cut 140,000 jobs in December. All were held by women, while men gained employment.
By Alexandra Kelley Data released on Friday from the U.S. Department of Labor showed a disturbing setback for women in the workforce; of the 140,000 jobless claims reported in December, women accounted for all of the job losses recorded that month. Payroll employment reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and analyzed by CNN reveals that women suffered all of the 156,000 job losses, while their male counterparts gained 16,000. Beneath this gender disparity was another problematic difference [...]
December data show women’s employment declining in pandemic—no clear end in sight
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 8, 2021 Contact: Keri A. Potts | 860-839-3438 | potts@iwpr.org Women's jobs on payroll have declined for the first time since last April. New BLS data for December show women lost 156,000 payroll job. Men's jobs on payroll rose slightly by 16,000. Hispanic women faced a 9.1 percent unemployment rate, the highest among women and an 11 percent increase since November. Washington, DC—December unemployment numbers show an abysmal end to the year for working women, [...]
More than 2 million women left the workforce in 2020. Why it matters and what happens next
By Katie Kindelan When the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns struck the United States in March, Reshma Saujani, the founder and CEO of Girls Who Code and a mom of two, saw the impact play out in her own life, as well as the lives of her employees, who are predominantly women and working moms. "I saw the struggle play out in their living rooms and in my living room where we're trying to not dampen our dreams, but we have to [...]
