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.
Paid Sick Days in Massachusetts Would Lower Health Care Costs by Reducing Unnecessary Emergency Department Visits
This fact sheet reports findings from research by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) on how increased access to paid sick days would improve both access to health care and health outcomes in Massachusetts.
Gender Segregation in Fields of Study at Community Colleges and Implications for Future Earnings
DOWNLOAD REPORT Postsecondary education yields myriad benefits, including increased earnings potential, higher lifetime wages, and access to quality jobs. But postsecondary degrees are not all equalin the benefits they bring to students and women tend to obtain degrees in fields with lower earnings. [...]
Recommendations for Improving Women’s Employment in the Recovery
DOWNLOAD REPORT In the current economic recovery, women are facing a gap in employment that jeopardizes the well-being and economic security of themselves and their families. This briefing paper, prepared by a group of scholars and researchers collaborating as the Women Scholars Forum, [...]
Watch: Martha Burk discusses equal pay initiative in New Mexico
https://youtu.be/qhl7tvs7zJg Martha Burk (Director, Corporate Accountability Project, National Council of Women's Organizations, and former Senior Policy Adviser for Women's Issues to Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico) discusses her initiative to achieve equal pay in New Mexico's contract compliance program, which is the only program [...]
Maternity, Paternity, and Adoption Leave in the United States
The United States is among a very small number of countries in the world without a statutory right to paid maternity leave for employees. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s (IWPR) analysis of Working Mother magazine’s “100 Best Companies” finds that almost all of the top companies provide some paid maternity leave and, between 2006 and 2010, these employers dramatically expanded coverage for paternity and adoptive parent leave.
