Institute for Women's Policy Research

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This Report Proves How Hard It Is to Be a Black Woman in America

They face so many structural barriers.

Historically, black women have been leaders in organizing against social injustices and securing rights for their communities. Their efforts were essential to the women's suffrage movement and the Voting Rights Act, and they are currently at work to change discriminatory laws that lessen their ability to participate in our nation's political system. The status of black women is the focus of a new report from the Institute for Women's Policy Research and the National Domestic Workers Alliance. The report aims to develop new policies and legislation that contribute to the overall well-being of black women, and it gives solutions for amplifying their voices across the nation.

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College Students with Children Work Hard to Succeed

Millions of college students in the U.S. are also parents. Balancing work, school and parenting takes a lot time, energy and money. Resources for student-parents are limited across the country. But some universities try to help these non-traditional students any way they can.

A 2014 IWPR report said that 4.8 million undergraduate students are raising children. And a 2013 IWPR study showed that more than half of student-parents leave school after 6 years without finishing their degrees.

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Equal pay for equal work: How do we get it?

Massachusetts has a plan.

Over time, the pay gap between men and women has decreased, but it's snail-like progress. According to an estimate by the IWPR, "... if change continues at the same slow pace as it has done for the past 50 years, it will take 44 years — or until 2059 — for women to finally reach pay parity." Women are the primary breadwinners in 40 percent of America's families, so this disparity affects millions of kids and dependent adults as well.

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How nixing this hiring question could end the gender pay gap

To achieve equal pay, it's now illegal for companies in Massachusetts to ask this standard interview question

If there were no pay gap, working women and their families would have an additional $447.6 billion in earnings, according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

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Massachusetts Becomes First State Ever To Ban Employers From Asking For Salary Histories

The state will be the first in the country to ban employers from asking prospective hires for their salary histories.

About half of all employees say they are either prohibited or discouraged from discussing compensation, even though they have a legal right to do so. That makes it incredibly difficult for women or other marginalized groups to discover whether they're being unfairly paid less than their colleagues.

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Louisiana: the state of women, part 1

Hillary Rodham Clinton officially became the first woman to lead the ticket of a major party in a presidential election on July 27. As she...

The Institute for Women's Policy Research, for example, has tracked statistics on the subject for decades. It found that the rates and/or levels of poverty, employment and health care for women have either remained relatively stagnant or backslid since 1994.

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Is Work-Life Balance for Moms Total BS?

So maybe you’re not #killingit every day, but it’s not like motherhood is easy. Cut yourself some slack, woman!

Parents of young children can’t continue to go it alone. “We need an entire infrastructure to support working families as a whole,” says Ariane Hegewisch, program director for employment and earnings at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

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A Step Toward Equal Pay for Men and Women

Massachusetts legislation aims to diminish gender-based discrimination in the workplace.

“Enacting these kinds of state laws shows that the world doesn’t collapse when we create additional protections against gender discrimination in the workplace, which is often the argument from opponents at the national level,” said Ariane Hegewisch, the program director for employment and earnings at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

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The truth about the gender wage gap

Women earn 79 cents on the dollar compared with men. But the gender wage gap is much, much more than one number.

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Patent Representation

A new report indicates that women are underrepresented among US patent holders.

Women are listed as the primary inventor on fewer than 8 percent of US patents, according to an analysis conducted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research. Overall, the report adds, only 18.8 percent of all patents in 2010 had at least one female inventor listed, though that's up from 3.4 percent in 1977.

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Why Do Women Inventors Hold So Few Patents?

At the rate we’re going, women won’t hold as many patents as men until 2092.

Since 1977, women have quintupled their representation among patent holders, yet they still hold “an extremely small share of patents,” according to a new paperby the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Four decades ago, 3 percent of all patents listed at least one woman inventor. As of 2010, nearly 19 percent of patents did. Overall, more than 81 percent of patents include no women.

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Win/Win: Collective Impact brings employers and workers together to build a stronger community

Collective Impact "backbone" organizations Skyward and Partners for a Competitive Workforce are putting more local residents to work thanks to the Greater Cincinnati Foundation's focus on equity and collaboration.

In 2013 Urbanik worked closely with Angie Taylor at Gateway Community and Technical College in Northern Kentucky to create a 16-week program for women to earn certification to work in manufacturing jobs called “Raise the Floor.” It’s become a model for best practices, soon to be featured in a report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, according to Taylor’s successor, Carissa Schutzman, vice president of Gateway Corporate College. She describes the four pillars of Raise the Floor: recruit, train, place and support.

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How generation Z females could be the answer to tech’s gender diversity problem

While the biggest names in tech strive to close the gender gap and build more inclusive working environments, the pool of talent on offer is predominantly..

According to Ariane Hegewisch, a study director for the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, females make the decision to steer clear of sciences at a young age.

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New IWPR report brings together rich body of evidence on the economic, health, and social benefits of paid sick leave

A new briefing paper by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) compiles more than a dozen scholarly and policy research articles that demonstrate a compelling case for the health, economic, and social benefits of paid sick leave. The report cites studies showing that paid sick days are associated with benefits to employers, including reduced contagion in the workplace, improved productivity, decreased workplace injuries, and lower employee turnover. Studies also show employment benefits to workers, including greater job stability and labor force attachment.

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A Safe Place to Start: A national problem comes home

Family Safety Network

Idaho can and should do better. In a recent national study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, “Status of Women in the States: 2015”, Idaho ranked 50th overall on the status of women.

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Massachusetts House passes pay equity bill

The bill was supported by business and women's rights groups. It would make it illegal for employers to prevent employees from discussing their salaries or to ask job applicants about their salary history.

According to a study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, women working full time in Massachusetts earn 81 cents for every dollar men earn.

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In Colorado, women earn 80 cents to men’s dollar. We asked women across Colorado why there is still a gender wage gap, what their experiences have been, and how the gap can be closed.

“’The Economic Status of Women in Colorado,’ by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and funded by The Women’s Foundation of Colorado, found that while women have made progress toward economic equality over the years, they still lag behind men in several ways”