Clark Jennifer
Communications Manager at the Institute for Women's Policy Research.
Blog Post List
March 4, 2014
Hispanic Workers are the Least Likely to Have Access New analysis by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) finds that access to paid sick days is unequally distributed across the U.S. population, with substantial differences by race/ethnicity, occupation, earnings, and employment status. Analyzing the National Health Interview Survey, IWPR found that 61 percent of private sector employees had access to paid sick days in 2012, up from 57 percent in 2009; yet, 41 million workers still lack access. Lack of paid sick days is especially common in certain jobs requiring frequent contact...
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March 14, 2013
A little over 25 years ago, Dr. Heidi Hartmann dashed between meetings and a part-time fellowship in a 1969 Buick with a couple of boxes of files dedicated to research on women’s economic security in the back of a rather sizable trunk. This corner of Dr. Hartmann’s Buick can safely be referred to as the first unofficial office of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). The meetings she shuffled between were to unearth funding here and there for gender analysis on women’s role in a modern workforce. With a Ph.D. in Economics from Yale, Dr. Hartmann began her research career at...
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October 13, 2011
For a long time – even before some of the current crop of presidential candidates began accusing America’s most successful public program of being nothing more than a “ Ponzi scheme ” – the national conversation about “fixing” Social Security has centered around cutting benefits or raising the retirement age (also a benefit cut , albeit by another name). Since Social Security does not contribute to the deficit, and is actually running an impressive $2.6 trillion surplus, there is no need to panic about the program’s projected long-term revenue shortfall. A report released today from the...
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June 7, 2011
The Institute for Women's Policy Research is venturing into new territory. IWPR has been selected to compete in the Pepsi Refresh Project , a voter-driven contest that could win IWPR $25,000 for raising awareness on the status of women. With previous grants going to projects that build playgrounds in local communities or provide spay/neuter surgeries for pets, it might seem like IWPR's project to provide reliable information on the state of the union for women is a bit abstract for the contest. But IWPR sees the Pepsi Refresh project as an opportunity to demystify the importance--nay, the...
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May 20, 2011
For many young working women, retirement security rests at the bottom of a lengthy priority list loaded with seemingly more pressing concerns. These include finding a satisfying, well-paying job, negotiating a raise and, for many, juggling family responsibilities with career advancement. Social Security, a government program associated with older Americans, might seem even more abstract to demographic whose retirement years are quite a few decades away. But as a panel of experts explained to an engaged crowd of young professional women recently, women face unique challenges in retirement and...
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May 6, 2011
In time for Mother's Day, the Institute for Women's Policy Research, a leading think tank in the U.S. focusing primarily on domestic women’s issues, released a compilation of recent IWPR research findings that illustrate the current status of women, especially mothers, in the U.S. When IWPR posted a “Top 5” list of our most revealing research findings last December, we were so encouraged by the level of interest our readers showed in the post, that we decided to turn it into a regular roundup. Although intending to compile another “Top 5” list, the first four months of 2011 were so action-...
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April 12, 2011
On April 12, we will “celebrate” Equal Pay Day , held on a Tuesday every year to symbolize how far into a second work week women must work to earn the same amount men earn in a single work week. Research shows that the wage gap is real and has had adverse effects on women’s lifetime earnings and family economic security . Since pictures sometimes speak louder than words, here are a few charts that visualize the extent of the wage gap and what (un)equal pay means for women workers and their families. (click to enlarge) The Gender Earnings Ratio, 1955-2010 (IWPR) , shows the wage gap as it has...
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March 29, 2011
Written with Ariane Hegewisch , Study Director at the Institute for Women's Policy Research. The Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday to decide whether the lower courts rightly certified the women at Wal-Mart as a class. Wal-Mart’s own salary data shows that on average women earn $1,100 per year less than men, differences that cannot be explained by experience or performance, and that women are much less likely to get promotions than men. An unprecedented number of amicus curiae (or ‘friend of the court’) briefs were submitted to the court, from groups as varied as the Chamber of Commerce...
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March 11, 2011
A new development in the Wisconsin union story occurred a couple nights ago when Wisconsin’s Republican state senators discovered a roundabout way, without any of their Democratic colleagues present, to pass a bill that will strip collective bargaining for public sector employees in the state. The state senators took out the “financial” aspects of the bill and voted to strip collective bargaining rights from public sector employees separate from the budget bill. But banning collective bargaining will have financial ramifications—especially for family budgets. Collective bargaining allows for...
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March 4, 2011
The budget battles in Wisconsin, Indiana, and across the Midwestern United States have inspired a barrage of commentary about what the successful passage of the proposed state laws to strip public sector unions of their collective bargaining power would mean for public sector workers ( not good ), black workers ( really not good ), and the future of the labor movement ( really , really not good). Another group with a significant stake in the outcome of these debates over public sector union bargaining power is women. First, let’s review a few facts about women and labor unions in general...
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