Dear John,

This year, there is an urgency behind the labor movement’s promise to ensure workers have dignity, security, and fair compensation. The pandemic and recession have served as untimely reminders that our country depends on labor from essential workers who lack critical safeguards such as paid sick days, paid leave, affordable child care, and unemployment income that would protect their health and wellbeing and that of their families.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) is continuing to stand on the frontlines and demand bold change to protect workers. Its data and research offer solutions for policymakers and organizers alike to achieve an equitable recovery. As Chair of the Board of Directors, I am proud to help lead IWPR at this critical moment and guide its work addressing the needs of working women and their families.

IWPR is reimagining an economy that works for all women and identifying the policies that will bring economic security to working women and families. This past summer, IWPR released COVID rapid response reports that highlighted the impact of the pandemic on breadwinner mothers, student parents, and families who lack income for food, and the policies needed to support them.

Through its new partnership with Pivotal Ventures, IWPR is also launching a new Research and Action hub to build a network of women’s centers that produce research and innovative policy solutions to accelerate women’s power and influence in society and in the workforce.

Together, we can achieve dignity and equal pay for women workers. With your support, IWPR can continue its work promoting labor rights through groundbreaking research, policy analysis, and public education. I encourage you to make a donation to IWPR this Labor Day to advance worker protections and honor the working women in your life.

Lorretta Johnson, Chair, IWPR Board of Directors

Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO

Institute for Women's Policy Research

1200 18th Street NW, Suite 301

Washington, D.C. 20036