Publications
Motivated but Underserved: Supporting Student Parents on the Path to a Bachelor’s Degree
Student parents—college students with dependent children—are highly motivated to succeed in college. They pursue degrees not only to achieve economic mobility for themselves but also to secure a better future for their children. Despite their high aspirations, they encounter significant barriers that contribute to [...]
Gender Wage Gap Worsens for Second Year in a Row
In 2024, women working full-time year-round made 80.9 cents per dollar earned by men (a wage gap of 19.1 percent)—a significant worsening of the gender earnings ratio compared to 82.7 cents per dollar in 2023 (a wage gap of 17.3 percent). This is the [...]
Investing in Economic Opportunity for Women in North Carolina
This report was commissioned by the North Carolina Council for Women and Youth Involvement (CFWYI), an advocacy division housed in the North Carolina Department of Administration, and the North Carolina Council for Women (the Council), a group of 20 gubernatorial appointees who advise the [...]
Numbers Matter: Women Working in Construction
In 2024, the number of women working in construction trades was the highest ever, with 366,360 working in construction and extraction occupations. Since 2015, the number of tradeswomen has increased by almost 160,000, or 77.3 percent. Construction careers, including apprenticeships, are attracting an increasing [...]
Black Women Need Better Access to Leadership Positions—and Equal Pay When They Get There
Attaining postsecondary education offers economic mobility for Black women; however, it is not enough to eliminate the disparities they experience in advancing to leadership roles. Black women in the United States continue to experience a steady increase in successfully earning college degrees but are [...]
When Care Fails, Generations Suffer: The Ripple Effect of the Black Maternal Health Crisis
The ongoing crisis of Black maternal mortality is not only a personal tragedy but also a preventable loss with profound, lasting effects on children, families, and entire communities. This brief builds on others in this series by shedding light on the broad and long-term [...]
