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.
Biden’s COVID Relief Plan Is a Huge Deal for Women. Here’s How.
By Keya Vakil As the coronavirus pandemic wrecked the economy last March, Maria Lopez—like millions of many other Americans—lost her job. The travel and leisure sectors came to a screeching halt, and Lopez, 53, was furloughed from her job as a room attendant at the Westin Hotel in downtown Phoenix. She qualified for unemployment benefits, but the impact of losing work was still devastating for Lopez and her family. “It was very difficult for all of us to be able [...]
A year into COVID, child care issues still affect mothers’ employment
By Meghan McCarty Carino The economic downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on women when it comes to job losses, and in particular mothers with young kids, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution. Industries that employ a lot of women, like retail, have been among the hardest hit by job losses. The report found more than 1 in 10 mothers of young children had left a job, said Lauren Bauer, a fellow at [...]
What the American Jobs Plan Will Mean for the Care Economy
On Wednesday afternoon, President Joe Biden traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to unveil his $2 trillion plan to boost the economy and rebuild infrastructure across America. The sweeping proposal, called the American Jobs Plan, is part of President Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda and will tackle everything from the ongoing climate crisis to job creation to improving infrastructures like roads, bridges, and highways. At least $400 billion will be set aside for the “caregiving economy,” with major investments in our child and [...]
As Biden pushes split infrastructure plan, working women see a make-or-break moment
By Eric Rosenbaum If President Biden’s infrastructure plan makes you first think of hard hats, roads and bridges — maybe in 2021, also wind, solar and electrical vehicles — you have not been paying attention as closely as many working women. On Capitol Hill, in the offices of congresswomen like single working mom and California Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, and among organizations that study the role of women in politics and women in the labor force, the Biden infrastructure plan [...]
Megan Rapinoe shines spotlight on pay fight and unequal NCAA amenities in Capitol Hill testimony
By Annie Grayer World Cup champion, US soccer player and longtime equal pay advocate Megan Rapinoe highlighted the ongoing inequities and discrimination women face when it comes to compensation and sports as part of her testimony Wednesday before Congress. "What we've learned, and what we continue to learn, is that there is no level of status -- and there's no accomplishment or power -- that will protect you from the clutches of inequity," Rapinoe said during a hearing in the [...]
Equal Pay Day 2021: The Results of a COVID-Impacted Economy
For many women, this Equal Pay Day feels uniquely urgent. While it looks like the wage gap is shrinking – that’s only because women in low wage jobs have been pushed out of the work force during the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic downturn in its wake. A new analysis from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), along with highlights from a new national IWPR survey, shows that women want and need the government to do more to close [...]