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.
The Status of Women in Colorado Report
A comprehensive study of women’s lives in Colorado.
Why Privatizing Government Services Would Hurt Women Workers
This report analyzes the implications of privatization for women workers, especially those employed in low-end occupations.
Why Privatizing Government Services Would Hurt Women Workers
This Research in Brief summarizes key findings of the IWPR report ‘Why Privatizing Government Services Would Hurt Women Workers by Annette Bernhardt and Laura Dresser (forthcoming). Using data from the 1998 Current Population Survey, Bernhardt and Dresser document job growth in the public and private sectors and examine the quality of jobs in terms of wages and benefits. Overall, this research finds that the public sector offers considerably better wages and benefits for women workers than does the private sector. For African American and Hispanic women, and for women who do not have a college education, the difference is between public and private sector employment is especially pronounced. To a large extent, higher wages and better access to health and pension coverage in the public sector can be attributed to higher rates of union coverage.
The Outcomes of Welfare Reform for Women
An overview of research conducted shortly after the 1996 welfare refor. Highlights unique labor market and family care issues faced by women, women of color, and immigrants.
Paid Family and Medical Leave: Supporting Working Families in Illinois
Recent initiatives to expand and enact paid family and medical leave programs have been inspired by the dramatic decline in the proportion of families with a full-time caregiver (wife and mother) at home.
The Status of Women in Colorado: Highlights
Colorado reflects both the advances and limited progress achieved by women in the United States.
