In the Lead
Covering Small Businesses in Paid Leave
By Jeff Hayes, Ph.D. Whether to cover all employers or to exclude small employers from coverage is a frequent topic that emerges during discussions about policies to expand access to worker leave for family and medical needs. For example, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) excludes those working for employers of less than 50 within a 75 mile radius. This restriction is one of the primary reasons that the FMLA excludes about two in five workers in [...]
Improving Access for Women in Business and Innovation
By Jessica Milli, Ph.D. Previous IWPR research has indicated that fewer than 20 percent of all U.S. patents have at least one woman listed as an inventor. In July, IWPR released two new reports which built on this earlier work, examining the gap in innovative activities more broadly among businesses owned by women and men and the implications for business outcomes, and profiling programs aimed at promoting women’s greater participation in patenting and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship has become increasingly common among [...]
Technology and Automation are Changing the Labor Market for Women
By Nicolas Martinez In the coming years, developments in artificial intelligence, computerization, and automation are likely to impact most jobs. This summer, IWPR held a panel discussion with Professor Jerry Jacobs, Sarita Gupta, and Morgan Higgins to discuss how AI and computerization may change jobs in elder care and how public policy can improve the quality of care jobs. This discussion was part of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s Women & the Future of Work lecture series, supported by [...]
Equal Pay Act 55th Anniversary
June 10, 2018, marks the 55th anniversary of passage of the Equal Pay Act. On that day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed into law the act that, in his words, “prohibits the arbitrary discrimination against women in the payment of wages.” President Kennedy hands out pens at the White House signing of the Equal Pay Act on June 10, 1963. Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS What is the Equal Pay Act? Here’s how the Equal Employment Opportunity [...]
Why We Should Invest in Single Mothers’ Higher Education
By Rachel Karp The number of single mothers in college has grown tremendously over the past decade. In the 2011-12 academic year alone, nearly 1.3 million single mothers were enrolled in two- and four-year institutions. But only 8 percent of single mothers who enroll in college graduate with a degree. In a recently-released analysis, IWPR found that the economic returns to single mothers’ investment in a college education are enormous—for them and for society. Single mother graduates of two- and [...]
Five Facts to Know for #MomsEqualPay Day
Wednesday, May 30, is Moms Equal Pay Day 2018, which symbolizes the day that mothers have to work until they earn as much as fathers earned last year. According to the American Community Survey data from the Census Bureau, moms earn 71 cents compared to dads’ dollar. Want to know even more about how the pay gap affects moms and their families? Here are five facts to inform your conversations on Moms Equal Pay Day: 1. Moms’ earnings are critical [...]