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.
Digitalization, Automation, and Older Black Women: Ensuring Equity in the Future of Work
Despite their high labor force participation, Black women have historically been concentrated in a small number of occupations with low pay and poor working conditions.
Winter 2019 Quarterly Newsletter
DOWNLOAD REPORT
The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation 2018
DOWNLOAD REPORT Women’s median earnings are lower than men’s in nearly all occupations, whether they work in occupations predominantly done by women, occupations predominantly done by men, or occupations with a more even mix of men and women. Data for both women’s and [...]
Women Gain Jobs in Construction Trades but Remain Underrepresented in the Field
Between 2017 and 2018, the number of women working in construction trades increased by 17.6 percent, rising to well over a quarter of a million women (276,000).[1] This is substantially higher than job growth of 3.7 percent in construction occupations overall.
Retail Occupations: Few Signs of Employment Decline but Increasing Precarity
One in eleven U.S. workers work in retail jobs, close to 13 million workers in 2014-16. Occupations in the retail sector include Retail Salespersons, Cashiers, and Stock Clerks and Order Fillers, but also Advertising Agents, Telemarketers, and Models and Product Promoters.
Still a Man’s Labor Market: The Slowly Narrowing Gender Wage Gap
The commonly used figure to describe the gender wage ratio—that a woman earns 80 cents for every dollar earned by a man—understates the pay inequality problem by leaving many women workers out of the picture. This report argues that a multi-year analysis provides a more comprehensive picture of the gender wage gap and presents a more accurate measure of the income women actually bring home to support themselves and their families.
