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


In the Lead

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.

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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, [...]

Young Women in the “She-cession”: Centering the Experience of Young Women of Color

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated deep-seated inequalities in the society, with communities of color and low-wage workers who are disproportionately women, racial minorities, and young workers bearing the brunt of the pandemic’s health and economic impact. Since the beginning of the pandemic, scholars and activists have called attention to the “intersectional vulnerabilities” laid bare by the pandemic. An intersectional perspective highlights how various structural inequalities interconnect and shape the unique experiences of groups situated differently on the “matrix of domination.” [...]

Equal Pay Day 2021: The Results of a COVID-Impacted Economy

For many women, this Equal Pay Day feels uniquely urgent. While it looks like the wage gap is shrinking – that’s only because women in low wage jobs have been pushed out of the work force during the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic downturn in its wake. A new analysis from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), along with highlights from a new national IWPR survey, shows that women want and need the government to do more to close [...]

March 24, 2021|Categories: In the Lead|Tags: , , , , |

Progress on Closing the Gender and Race Wage Gap is Too Slow: Inequality Between and Within Occupations

Equal Pay Day, March 24th of this year, marks how many extra months women have to work to catch up with men’s earnings in the last calendar year. Full-time women workers made just 82 cents on the dollar compared to men at the median. The gap in annual earnings is even larger for Latinas who made just 55 cents, and Black women who made just 63 cents per dollar earned at the median for White non-Hispanic men. At the current [...]

March 22, 2021|Categories: In the Lead|Tags: , , , |

Asian American and Pacific Islander Equal Pay Day Reveals Racial Challenges Despite Model Minority Stereotype

Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit AAPI women particularly hard as businesses continue to close and caregiving responsibilities increase. While AAPI women consistently earn more than any other group of women in the United States, both prior to the pandemic and now, the gender wage gap persists, with AAPI women earning 84.6 percent of White men’s earnings, and only 73.3 percent of AAPI men’s earnings. For many AAPI women, the wage gap perpetuates existing inequalities, and combined [...]

New Report Lifts Up Black, Latina, and Afro-Latina Women’s Voices in Construction Trades

March 7th-13th is Women in Construction Week. For women who work in the union construction trades, it’s more than just a job. It also means high wages and the opportunity to earn while learning as an apprentice. It means healthcare, the ability to provide for one’s family, and the chance to own a home. It means pride and satisfaction in a challenging but rewarding career. A new brief published by Chicago Women in the Trades’ Center for Gender Equity in [...]