In the Lead2021-01-07T17:39:15-05:00


In the Lead

Senate CERH hearing
Senate Holds Key Hearing on the Economic Impact of Abortion Restrictions

IWPR's research shows that abortion restrictions harm women’s health and education leading to disproportionate impacts on the national and state economy. A key Senate committee took up this important issue at a hearing on February 28 and IWPR was there.

FAFSA delay blog
FAFSA Delays-Navigating the Thorny Landscape of College Unaffordability

For many low-income college students, the prevailing Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) delays are causing added panic to our ever-growing educational crisis of soaring college costs. IWPR's Policy Team weighs in.

Moms EPD 2023
Mothers’ Wage Inequities Go Beyond Paid Labor

August 15 was Mom's Equal Pay Day and IWPR's research shows that In 2021, working moms made just 62 cents on the dollar compared to working fathers.

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A Wage Gap in Every State: State-Level Resources with Data for Equal Pay Day

This year, March 12 marks Equal Pay Day—a day to draw awareness to the wage gap between women and men. In 2022, the most recent data available for full-time, year-round workers (2023 data will be out in September), the gender earnings ratio was 84.0 percent, meaning women, on average, were paid 16 cents less for every dollar earned by men. Said another way, women had to work 62 weeks to be paid what men were paid in just 52 [...]

The Economic Fallout of Reproductive Rights Restrictions on Women’s Futures

“[Abortion] is not an issue easily distilled down to dollars and cents... In fact, it is rather dehumanizing!" 90-year-old Republican Senator Grassley exclaimed at the Senate Budget Committee hearing on February 28th, 2024 on the economic harms of restricting reproductive freedom. We disagree with the Senator - what’s dehumanizing is not discussing the very real economic impacts of restrictions on abortion and other reproductive healthcare, it’s the impacts of those restrictions on patients, doctors, and families that were the subject [...]

Navigating the Thorny Landscape of College Unaffordability

For many low-income college students, the prevailing Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) delays are causing added panic to our ever-growing educational crisis of soaring college costs. For me, the annual FAFSA form was always an unnerving part of my college experience because it determined whether I would be able to return to school in the forthcoming academic year. The programs and grants solely administered through FAFSA, such as the Federal Work Study Program and the Pell Grant, [...]

What Women Can Look Forward to in 2024

The year 2023 was riddled with post-Dobbs abortion bans, attacks on gender-affirming care, near government shutdowns, and states striving to legislatively and judicially strip women of their bodily autonomy. And the spotlight on state policy action only intensified with a federal void on policies protecting reproductive health and securing paid leave. On many policy fronts, it was a regressive year for gender equity, but while some states went low, others went high. Some states actually enacted policies that will [...]

February 1, 2024|Categories: Economic, Security, Mobility, and Equity, In the Lead, Policy|Tags: |

Despite Its Name, the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act is Nothing More than Another Attack on Abortion Rights

This week, amidst a growing list of urgent priorities and rapidly approaching government funding deadlines, the House of Representatives is instead opting to vote for legislation to further stigmatize and restrict students’ reproductive decisions.   Under the guise of protecting students’ rights, the House leadership is turning its anti-abortion crusade on college and university students, pushing legislation to limit their ability to make reproductive health care decisions. Despite its lofty title, the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act does absolutely nothing to protect [...]

January 18, 2024|Categories: In the Lead, Policy|Tags: , |

Are Cash Transfers and Guaranteed Income Programs an Answer to Poverty in the United States?

The state of poverty alleviation efforts in the United States creates an opportunity for cash transfer and guaranteed income pilots.   There is an urgent need to identify and implement social policies and programs that support women’s economic empowerment and well-being. In recent years, cash transfers and guaranteed income programs, which provide money to participants in need of income assistance, have gained widespread support in the United States, with an increase in the number of pilots post-pandemic.    One in ten [...]

December 7, 2023|Categories: Economic, Security, Mobility, and Equity, In the Lead|Tags: |
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