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.
Women Only Pre-Apprenticeship Programs: Meeting Skills Needs and Creating Pathways to Good Jobs for Women
The average salary for someone who completed an apprenticeship is $60,000 per year. The average salary of an electrician (the most common apprenticeship) on completion of an apprenticeship is $23 per hour; for a 40-hour week this translates to $920, substantially higher than the median weekly earnings for a worker with an Associate degree (of $836 in 2017).
Basic Economic Security in the United States: How Much Income Do Working Adults Need in Each State?
To experience economic security, working adults must have enough income to meet their basic monthly expenses and save for emergencies and retirement. The Basic Economic Security Tables (BEST) Index provides a measure of how much income working adults of different family types need to be economically secure in each state.
The Gender Wage Gap: 2017; Earnings Differences by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
DOWNLOAD REPORT The Gender Wage Gap: 2017 Earnings Differences by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity The ratio of women’s and men’s median annual earnings was 80.5 percent for full-time/year-round workers in 2017, unchanged since 2016.[1] This means a gender wage gap for full-time/year-round workers [...]
Access to Paid Sick Time in Dallas, Texas
Approximately 41 percent of workers in Dallas lack paid sick time, and low-income and part-time workers are especially unlikely to be covered. Access to paid sick time promotes safe and healthy work environments by preventing the spread of illness.
Access to Paid Sick Time in San Antonio, Texas
This briefing paper presents estimates of access to paid sick time in San Antonio by sex, race and ethnicity, employment sector, occupation, part/full-time employment status, and earnings levels through analyses of government data sources, including the 2014–2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the 2016 American Community Survey (ACS).
The Gender Wage Gap: 2017 Earnings Differences by Race and Ethnicity
DOWNLOAD REPORT The gender wage gap in weekly earnings for full-time workers in the United States did not improve between 2016 and 2017. In 2017, the ratio of women’s to men’s median weekly full-time earnings was 81.8 percent, a decrease of 0.1 percentage [...]
