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.
Temporary Work
The growth of temporary work - both as offered through the temporary help services industry (THS), and directly by employers- presents some new and largely unrecognized questions of public policy.
Low-Wage Work, Health Benefits, and Family Well-Being
Departing from the outmoded view that only male breadwinners need earn a wage adequate to support a family, a study by IWPR examines the adequacy of wages and benefits of all adult workers for family support.
Low-Wage Jobs and Workers: Trends and Options for Change
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The Status of Women in Lousiana Report
A comprehensive study of women's lives in Louisiana. Available by mail in limited quantities. E-mail iwpr@iwpr.org to place an order.
The Importance of Health Benefits in the Telecommunications Industry
This Briefing Paper is one of a series of occasional papers by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) on the status of women workers in the communications and other service industries.
Mothers, Children, and Low-Wage Work: The Ability to Earn a Family Wage
The most frequently mentioned cause of the feminization of poverty is the change in family structure-thee increase in divorce, nonmarital births, and independent households established by women (McLanahan et al. 1989; Pearce 1989).
