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.
Apprenticeships Can Deliver High Earnings but Do So Less for Women than Men
Apprenticeships provide an earn-as-you-learn pathway free of college debt to industry-recognized qualifications in high-demand occupations. In FY 2023*, the median hourly wage for women who completed registered apprenticeships was $22.00 compared with $34.07 for men, a gender earnings ratio of just 64.6 percent. Black [...]
Latinas Will Not Reach Pay Equity with White Men until 2207 if Current Trends Persist
In 2022, Latinas working full-time year-round were paid just 57.5 cents for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men nationally (a wage gap of 42.5 percent). Among all workers, including those working full-time, part-time, full-year, or part- year, Latinas were paid only 51.9 cents [...]
Sweeping Wins in Minnesota Include Paid Leave and Student Parent Supports
Minnesota Democrats made the most of their slim majority in the state legislature this session by enacting a sweeping legislative agenda that included paid family and medical leave, and student parent success initiatives that promote gender equity in the workplace and in higher education institutions. [...]
Gender and Racial Wage Gaps Marginally Improve in 2022 but Pay Equity Still Decades Away
In 2022, women working full-time year-round made 84.0 cents per dollar earned by men (a wage gap of 16.0 percent), a marginal improvement compared to 2021 (83.7 cents per dollar) and significantly higher than in pre-COVID-19 2019 (82.3 cents).1 Based on median annual earnings [...]
Quick Figure: Pay Equity Still Decades Away
If progress continues at the same rate as it has since 1960, it will still take more than three decades, until 2053, for all working women to reach pay equity with men. It will take even longer, until 2058, to reach full pay equity [...]
State by State, Mothers Are Paid Much Less Than Fathers
Mothers earned less than fathers prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, during the pandemic, and as the economy began to recover from the pandemic. In 2021, the most recently available annual earnings data, the median annual earnings for mothers amounted to just 61.7 cents on [...]
