Economic, Security, Mobility and Equity (ESME)
Whether paid or unpaid, women’s work is crucial for their families’ economic security and well-being. Greater gender equality in paid and unpaid work will reduce poverty and improve economic growth and prosperity; persistent inequity in employment and family work is costing all of us. Women are held back by the undervaluation of historically female work, workplaces designed as if workers had no family responsibilities, and a broken-down work-family infrastructure.
IWPR’s ESME program highlights the extent of pay inequalities, and the role played by stark occupational segregation in perpetuating unequal pay. We conduct research and analysis on women’s labor force participation and employment trends; workforce development, non-traditional employment, and apprenticeships; the impact of sex discrimination and harassment on women’s career advancement and mobility; the gender pay gap and pay inequity across race and ethnicity; work-family policies and employer practices; the and the impact of automation and technological advances on women workers.
We work with policymakers, employers, advocates, and practitioners to identify promising practices and policy solutions.
The Status of Women in Florida Reproductive Rights
This White Paper provides an overview of reproductive rights in Florida. The report outlines the historical and political context of reproductive rights in the state and summarizes key data and outcomes. The report concludes with policy recommendations and areas for future research. It builds [...]
New IWPR Report Highlights Opportunities to Expand Access to Manufacturing Jobs, Lifts Up the Voices of Women on the Shop Floor
Washington, D.C. —A majority of women who responded to a survey of shop floor manufacturing workers report a largely equitable and harassment-free workplace, according to a new report released today by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). Yet the report also highlights the challenges [...]
Advancing Women in Manufacturing: Perspectives from Women on the Shop Floor
Careers in manufacturing can provide high earnings and good benefits. After years of decline,the manufacturing industry is growing again. Manufacturing employs one in ten workers in the United States but fewer than a third of workers are women,and women are particularly underrepresented in many [...]
New IWPR Polling Shows Strong Support for Congressional Action on Equal Pay, Child Care, Paid Leave, and Women’s Reproductive Health
March 21, 2023 Contact: William Lutz 202-785-5100 Washington, D.C. — Three out of four adults want to see Congress pass laws strengthening equal pay laws, expanding access to child care, and guaranteeing access to paid sick leave, while two of three adults want to see [...]
New IWPR Poll: Americans Want Congress to Act on Equal Pay, Child Care, Paid Leave, Reproductive Rights
This poll was conducted between February 2- February 3, 2023 among a sample of 2,201 U.S. Adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of Adults based on age, gender, race, educational attainment, region, gender by [...]
New IWPR Research: Women Earn Less Than Men in Almost All Occupations, Even in Jobs Commonly Held by Women
On the Eve of Equal Pay Day 2023, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research Releases Updated Report on the Gender Wage Gap by Occupation, Race and Ethnicity Washington, D.C. — Women are paid eighty-four (84) cents for every dollar a man makes and new research [...]
