By Joya Misra Professor of Sociology & Public Policy University of Massachusetts, Amherst misra@soc.umass.edu; 413-545-5969 Why do women earn less than men? Research points to a number of different explanations, but one of the central factors remains women’s caregiving responsibilities. The wages of childless men and women have been converging steadily over the last three […]
Topics of Expertise: Labor & Workforce / Work & FamilyLabor & Workforce
Public Policy
Happy Birthday Equal Pay: Pregnancy Accommodation as the New Frontier
By Joan C. Williams, Director of the Center for WorkLife Law, Hastings Foundation Chair, University of California, Hastings College of the Law williams@uchastings.edu; (415) 565-4706 Key pieces of legislation passed in the 1960s and 1970s – including the Equal Pay Act, Title VII, and Title IX – have greatly decreased, though not eliminated, direct discrimination […]
Topics of Expertise: Labor & Workforce / Work & FamilyThe Wrong Route to Equality: Men’s Declining Wages
By Heidi Shierholz Labor Market Economist Economic Policy Institute, Washington, DC hshierholz@epi.org, (202) 775-8810 In the late 1970s, after a long period of holding fairly steady, the gap in wages between men and women began improving. In 1979, the median hourly wage for women was 62.7 percent of the median hourly wage for men; by […]
Topics of Expertise: History & Trends on Gender, Marriage & Family Life / Labor & Workforce / Work & FamilyMen against Women, or the Top 20 Percent against the Bottom 80?
By Leslie McCall Professor of Sociology and Political Science Faculty Fellow, Institute for Policy Research Northwestern University l-mccall@northwestern.edu It used to be that the most economically successful women earned no more than the typical man, even when they had more education and held more highly skilled jobs. In 1970, the average woman in the top […]
Topics of Expertise: History & Trends on Gender, Marriage & Family Life / Labor & Workforce / Work & FamilyEqual Pay? Not Yet for Mothers
By Shelley J. Correll Professor of Sociology Director Clayman Institute for Gender Research Stanford University scorrell@stanford.edu; 650-721-1736 Last month, hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones set off a controversy when he remarked that “you will never see as many great women investors or traders as men.” In his experience, Jones claimed, a woman did fine until […]
Topics of Expertise: Labor & Workforce / Work & FamilyFrom the Folks Who Brought you the Weekend: What Unions Do for Women
The Equal Pay Act is often presumed to be an accomplishment of the feminist movement of the 1960s. In fact, it was spearheaded by female trade unionists, who first introduced the bill in 1945 as an amendment to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act. The bill was defeated, largely because of staunch opposition from business interests, but a coalition of labor activists reintroduced it every year until it finally passed in 1963.
Topics of Expertise: Feminism & Families / Labor & Workforce / Work & FamilyCCF Gender Revolution Symposium: Gender Evolution among Employed Men
By Ellen Galinsky President Families and Work Institute Phone: 212.465.2044 Email: egalinsky@familiesandwork.org I prefer to think of changes in gender relations and values as an evolution, with ups and downs and uneven progress in different areas. It is not at all clear that changes in men’s attitudes and behaviors have stalled. In 1977, three-quarters (74 percent) […]
Topics of Expertise: Division of Labor in Families / Labor & Workforce / Work & FamilyInternational Report Card on Parenting Policies: U.S. Gets a “Gentleman’s C”
By Rebecca Ray, Research Assistant Center for Economic and Policy Research Janet C. Gornick, Professor of Political Science and Sociology Graduate Center, the City University of New York John Schmitt, Senior Economist Center for Economic and Policy Research When it comes to giving fathers and mothers equal access to time off from work to care for […]
Topics of Expertise: Child Welfare / Labor & Workforce / Work & FamilyIt’s April 15: Do You Know Where Your Income Tax Dollars Are Going?
Experts: Andrew Cherlin
Americans tend to think we are better off than families in most other industrial countries because we pay lower income taxes. But when we factor in the higher amount Americans pay for health care, child care, and education, the comparison is not always in our favor. Where do American families’ tax dollars go and […]
Topics of Expertise: Economic Inequality / Health & Illness / Health Care / Labor & Workforce / TANF & Public Assistance / Work & FamilyMoms and Jobs: Trends in Mothers’ Employment and Which Mothers Stay Home
Experts: David Cotter / Paula England
The employment of wives and mothers rose dramatically from 1960 to about 1990, and thereafter has leveled off. There was a small dip from 2000 to 2004, but employment rates had inched back to 2000 levels by 2006, the latest figures available. Contrary to recent press accounts, there has not been an “op-out” revolution. […]
Topics of Expertise: Division of Labor in Families / Labor & Workforce / Work & FamilyEXPERTS
Professor of Economics, School of Public Policy UMass Amherst; Williams Institute UCLA
Associate Professor and Faculty Director of the Master of Science in Social Policy program, University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice
