Job Quality and Income Security

A good job provides workers and their families with a path to economic security with adequate wages for supporting themselves in the present and the tools for building future prosperity through saving, caring for and supporting family members and loved ones in the future. IWPR provides research and analysis on the impact quality jobs have on the economic well-being of workers, families, businesses, and communities.

We provide research and analysis on issues related to work-family policies, such as paid sick and family medical leave; wages, the social safety, and economic impact payments; benefits, health insurance, retirement security and pension access; scheduling, job security and flexibility; and career mobility and advancement.

Providing Unpaid Household and Care Work in the United States: Uncovering Inequality

In the United States, women spend considerably more time than men over their lifetime doing unpaid household and care work. The unequal distribution of this work—work that is essential for families and societies to thrive—not only limits women’s career choices and economic empowerment, but also affects their overall health and well-being.

Basic Economic Security in the United States

To experience economic security, working adults must have enough income to meet their basic monthly expenses and save for emergencies and retirement. The Basic Economic Security Tables (BEST) Index provides a measure of how much income working adults of different family types need to be economically secure in each state.

Paid Family Leave Increases Mothers’ Labor Market Attachment

The United States is the only OECD country that does not guarantee a right to paid maternity leave. Evidence suggests that improving access to paid leave in the United States has health and economic benefits for families.

Maternity Leave in the United States: Paid Parental Leave is Still Not Standard, Even Among the Best U.S. Employers
Gallery
Maternity Leave in the United States: Paid Parental Leave is Still Not Standard, Even Among the Best U.S. Employers

Fact Sheet, Job Quality and Income Security

Maternity Leave in the United States: Paid Parental Leave is Still Not Standard, Even Among the Best U.S. Employers

Nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of the best employers for working mothers provide four or fewer weeks of paid maternity leave, and half (52 percent) provide six weeks or less, according to an Institute for Women’s Policy Research analysis of data provided by Working Mother Media, Inc., publisher of Working Mother magazine.

By Vicky Lovell, Elizabeth O'Neill and Skylar Olsen|July 31, 2007|

Family Leave for Low-Income Working Women: Providing Paid Leave through Temporary Disability Insurance, The New Jersey Case
Gallery
Family Leave for Low-Income Working Women: Providing Paid Leave through Temporary Disability Insurance, The New Jersey Case

Briefing Paper, Job Quality and Income Security

Family Leave for Low-Income Working Women: Providing Paid Leave through Temporary Disability Insurance, The New Jersey Case

DOWNLOAD REPORT The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) provided for unpaid time off from work to care for sick relatives or a newborn or adopted child, guaranteeing leave-takers’ jobs when they returned to work. Low-wage workers and single parents, however, [...]

By Michele Naples|October 1, 2001|

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