Trends in Employment and Earnings
Women’s status in the area of employment and earnings has improved on two indicators since the publication of IWPR’s last national report on the status of women, the 2004 Status of Women in the States, and remained unchanged or declined on two others. Women’s median annual earnings for full-time, year-round work in 2013 ($39,157) were nearly identical to their earnings for similar work in 2002 ($39,108 when adjusted to 2013 dollars). The gender earnings ratio improved during this time from 76.6 to 78.3 percent, narrowing the gender wage gap by 1.7 percentage points, and the share of women working in professional or managerial occupations grew from 33.2 to 39.9 percent. Women’s labor force participation rate, however, declined from 59.6 in 2002 to 57.0 percent in 2014.
Supportive Services in Workforce Development Programs: Administrator Perspectives on Availability and Unmet Needs
Workforce development programs offer much-needed skills training to un- and under-employed Americans. Many such individuals also face personal challenges that prevent them from completing their training.
Job Training and Community College Administrators Say Supportive Services are Key to Program Completion, but are Not Adequately Funded
Washington, DC—A new survey released today by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), reports that 97 percent of job training administrators say that supportive services—such as child care, housing, emergency cash, and transportation assistance—are important or very important in helping participants complete job or skills training programs, but programs lack funding to offer enough services to meet demand. Although virtually all job training administrators want to provide more supportive services, nearly two-thirds say they are unlikely to expand their services in the near future, with funding constraints listed as the top reason.
Fall 2016 Quarterly Newsletter
A recent briefing paper, released as part of IWPR’s Student Parent Success Initiative (SPSI), finds that campus child care is declining in most states across the country, and that many states have eligibility rules that make it difficult for student parents to receive child care subsidies.
