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 Need Better Access to High-Paying Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships provide an earn-as-you-learn pathway free of college debt to industry-recognized qualifications in high-demand occupations. Yet, women are less likely than men to be in the highest- paying apprenticeships. Read more from our latest quick figure on the gender and racial wage gaps for [...]
“Lilly Ledbetter: Pioneer, Leader, Icon, Mentor, and Friend”–IWPR on the Passing of an Equal Pay Champion
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 15, 2024 Contact: William Lutz 202-785-5100 “Lilly Ledbetter: Pioneer, Leader, Icon, Mentor, and Friend” The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) on the Passing of an Equal Pay Champion Washington, DC—The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) today joined millions [...]
It Will Take Nearly 175 Years Until Latina Women Reach Pay Equity
Latina women were among the hardest hit by the economic crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, they are still facing difficult labor market conditions, including persistently low pay. This year, Latina Equal Pay Day is on October 3—a date representing the point in the year [...]
Latinas Won’t Reach Pay Equity with White Men Until 2198
The recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic crisis resulted in a tight labor market in which many workers gained through switching jobs and finding higher earnings. However, Latina women workers were hit hardest and are still facing lower labor force participation than before the [...]
Gender and Racial Wage Gaps Worsened in 2023 and Pay Equity Still Decades Away
In 2023, women working full-time year-round made 82.7 cents per dollar earned by men (a wage gap of 17.3 percent), a significant worsening of the earnings ratio compared to 84.0 cents per dollar in 2022 (a wage gap of 16.0 percent). Read more from [...]
Forecasting Pay Equity: Women Are Expected to Wait Over 50 Years to Reach Parity with Men
If progress continues at the same rate as it has since 2000, it will take more than four decades—until 2066— for women working full-time year-round to reach pay equity with men and even longer—until 2088—to reach pay equity between all working women and men. [...]
