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.
Gender wage gap shrank because of COVID-19, but that’s not a good thing
By Thuy Lan Nguyen Millions of people have been put out of work by the COVID-19 pandemic. We know women have been more impacted by pandemic job loss than men largely because industries hit hardest by the virus, hospitality and retail, are mostly led by women. This shift of low-wage women leaving the workforce has pointed the discussion to the gender wage gap. It's known that women make less than white non-Hispanic men. Women of color make even less for every [...]
All Together Now
Eleanor LeCain talks about the “Shecession” – the impact of the pandemic on women economically – and how the American Rescue Plan will help women and families, with Ariane Hegewisch, Program Director of Employment and Earnings at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research in Washington, DC (www.iwpr.org). Listen Here
Women have taken a staggering Covid hit. Now they offer the best hopes for the future
By Marianne Schnall On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. One year later, the world is still struggling with the myriad ways it has impacted our lives and created hardship for so many -- especially women and girls, Black, indigenous and people of color and other marginalized communities. In addition to the medical, economic and social devastation that the pandemic has caused -- including the staggering loss of over 500,000 lives in the United States [...]
One year of the pandemic, as told through the journal entries of 6 women
By Lindsey Sitz and Maya Lin Sugarman It’s been one year since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic. The Lily found six women across the country who kept diaries throughout the last 12 months. Listen as they read their reflections aloud. Susana Bejar is an internal medicine doctor who lost a patient to covid-19. Jackie O'Brien is a college senior who couldn’t celebrate her graduation. C. Nicole Mason, president and chief executive of the Institute for Women’s [...]
Biden’s newly signed rescue plan will help get parents back to work- by supporting child care
By Martha C. White Much of the concern about women’s waning labor force participation during the pandemic has been focused on the burden borne by mothers forced to choose between work and the supervision and education of their young children. Far less attention has been oriented towards the companies and workers within the industry itself, until now. Advocates were cheered by the passage of the $1.9 trillion Covid-relief bill, signed by President Joe Biden on Thursday afternoon. The plan includes [...]
Pushed out by pandemic, women struggle to regain footing in U.S. job market
By Jonnelle Marte and Aleksandra Michalska (Reuters) - Katy McAvoy hoped she would have more time for her job search after her 5-year-old daughter started in-person kindergarten in mid-November after months of virtual learning due to the pandemic. But the school near Grand Rapids, Michigan closed again a week later as COVID-19 infections surged there and across much of the country. The unpredictable schedule made it difficult for McAvoy to find time for interviews and networking or to figure out [...]