Women Earn Less Than Men Whether They Work in the Same or in Different Occupations
In 2022, women earned less than men for full-time weekly work in almost all occupations, includ- ing in 19 of the largest 20 occupations for women, and in all of the largest 20 occupations for men. Teaching Assistants (median weekly earnings of $662) is the only occupation with no gender difference in median weekly earnings for women and men working full-time.
In year two of COVID-19, the gender wage gap remained sizeable—and was widest for Black and Hispanic women—based on IWPR’s analysis of median weekly earnings for full-time workers.
Based on the largest national survey of tradeswomen ever conducted, with over 2,600 responses, IWPR's new report shows that more than four in ten women working in the construction trades have seriously considered leaving their jobs. Discrimination and harassment are among the main reasons that women depart the industry.
Lost Jobs, Stalled Progress: The Impact of the “She-Cession” on Equal Pay
In year one of COVID-19, the gender wage gap narrowed slightly only for full-time, year-round workers, with women in low-paying jobs bearing the brunt of the crisis. For all workers, the gender gap widened slightly.
The COVID-19 pandemic upended life for countless families and brought heightened attention to the plight of working parents. Mothers with young and school-aged children have borne the brunt of the care crisis in the United States, as schools and daycare centers across the country closed. Compared to fathers, mothers have been more likely to exit the labor force prematurely, become unemployed, and reduce their work hours during the pandemic (Heggeness 2020; Landivar et al. 2020).
Student parents face significant challenges that can limit their ability to enter, persist in, and graduate from college. Innovative partnerships between Head Start and the higher education system is a promising strategy to bring together essential supports to meet the needs of student parents and set them up for long-term success. This briefing paper explores what this partnership might look like, and how federal and state policy could encourage greater support for student parents and their families through Head Start.
New July jobs data show that women’s jobs grew by 649,000, marking the largest jobs growth since August 2020. Yet women’s recovery continues to lag behind men’s: Women still need 3.1 million more jobs on payroll to get back to pre-COVID levels. And, child care centers are recovering much more slowly than the overall economy, signaling difficulties for women’s return to work.
What prevents women from reaching the highest rungs of the leadership ladder? This report seeks to answer this by taking a closer look at the representation of women in management and leadership positions across the United States—and the barriers that hold organizations back from achieving full gender and racial equity in leadership.
Research Making the News Speaking up takes a financial toll on harassment victims: Study |Bryce Covert | July 21, 2021 While it’s long been clear that victims of sexual harassment often face retaliation that can damage their careers, the financial cost they shoulder have been [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic and related recession has both highlighted the persistent inequalities that Black women face in the labor market and exacerbated them. Black women were overrepresented in many low-paying jobs that were recognized as “essential” during the pandemic, but had often been dismissed as “low-skilled” before. [...]
