In the Lead
The High Financial Price Paid by Victims of Sexual Harassment
By Bryce Covert While it’s long been clear that victims of sexual harassment often face retaliation that can damage their careers, the financial cost they shoulder has been difficult to quantify. To put a number on it, a study published Wednesday by Time’s Up and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), “Paying Today and Tomorrow,” sought to nail down what people who had been harassed ended up paying. Victims interviewed faced expenses anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Read [...]
Calculating the True Costs of Experiencing Sexual Harassment
Experiencing workplace sexual harassment carries an emotional burden that’s impossible to adequately quantify—it’s a harsh and sometimes violent misuse of power that can leave lasting psychological trauma for those who experience it. A new report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and TIME’S UP shows that the costs of sexual harassment don’t end there. For the individuals in the report, economic consequences added up over time can culminate in lifetime costs as high as 1.3 million dollars (see infographic [...]
DC Ranks Top for Women’s Employment and Earnings, but Black and Latina Women Are Left Behind
Since the start of COVID-19, women have been hit hard by the pandemic-fueled “she-cession,” which has exacerbated existing inequities and increased economic insecurity among women. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s new policy brief uses 2019 data to provide a baseline for women’s employment and earnings, ranking all 50 states and the District of Columbia on four indicators: women’s earnings, the gender wage gap, women’s participation in the labor force, and women’s representation in managerial and professional occupations. In this [...]
Breaking Barriers, Increasing Visibility for Students with Children
This guest blog post is authored by Ashlee Hernandez, a 2021 alumni of Cal Poly’s Higher Education Counseling and Student Affairs graduate program and former student parent. The article was written in connection with IWPR’s Student Parent Success Initiative. Every semester, I pleaded with my professors to release me early from class so I could run to the on-campus child care center before it became dark. To get our parking spot, I needed to walk a mile off-campus where the [...]
Anti-Abortion Laws Cost Americans—and This Supreme Court Case Threatens to Make It Worse
2021 is on track to be the most restrictive anti-abortion year ever among state legislatures. Since January, over 500 abortion restrictions have been introduced across 47 states. Already, this is the second greatest number of restrictions in one year in American history. Just last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a new bill that bans abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat, as early as six weeks. This legislation also allows private citizens to sue abortion providers. Thus, [...]
IWPR Testifies to Congress on the Importance of an Accessible, Affordable Child-Care System
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for a robust child-care infrastructure in the United States. As the country emerges from the COVID-fueled recession and the Biden administration builds its recovery policy, the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) remains a strong advocate for the needs of parents and child-care workers. “The lack of access to affordable, reliable child care not only makes it harder for parents to work, it perpetuates systemic gender, racial, and class inequalities by relying on [...]