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.
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. [...]
National Gender Wage Gap Widens Significantly in 2023 for the First Time in 20 Years!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—UPDATED September 12, 2024 Contact: William Lutz 202-785-5100 Gender Wage Gap Widens Significantly in 2023 for the First Time in 20 Years, With Women Workers Making Just 82.7 Cents on the Dollar Compared to Men, down from 84 Cents in 2022 At [...]
Women Servers Earn Significantly Less than Their Male Counterparts
In 2023, 2.2 million people worked as servers in the United States, of which almost two-thirds were women. Additionally, most workers earning a tipped minimum wage were employed in the restaurant industry. This quick figure explores disparities among servers across gender, race, and ethnicity. [...]
State by State, Mothers Are Paid Much Less than Fathers
Mothers’ earnings are crucial for their own and their families’ economic security. Mothers are more likely than ever to be in the labor market: almost three-quarters (74.0 percent) of mothers of children under 18 were employed or looking for work in 2023, a higher [...]
For Black Women, Pay Equity Remains More than Two Centuries Away
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 9, 2024 Contact: William Lutz 202-785-5100 For Black Women, Pay Equity Remains More than Two Centuries Away Washington, DC — Black women earned 66 cents for every dollar earned by White men in 2022, according to data released by IWPR on [...]
