Research Making the News

Guide Outlines Benefits of Institutional Collaboration with Head Start

| Lois Elfman | September 14, 2020

Despite the large numbers of college students with children and their unique needs, most campuses, state data systems, and national higher education datasets do not count students with children or document their progress toward completion. […] This briefing paper discusses why data on student parents are critical to increasing equity in college outcomes, and reviews existing and potential new data sources on undergraduate college students with children. It also provides recommendations for improving data collection efforts around parent status, including examples of how these data can be collected by institutions of higher education.

Citing: Understanding the Student Parent Experience: The Need for Improved Data Collection on Parent Status in Higher Education by Barbara Gault, Tessa Holtzman, and Lindsey Reichlin Cruse at Institute for Women’s Policy Research

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When reproductive rights are less restrictive, babies are born healthier

| Elsevier | October 13, 2020

American women living in states with less restrictive reproductive rights policies are less likely to give birth to low-birth weight babies. This study analyzed birth record data for the nearly four million births that occurred in the 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2016 to assess the associations between reproductive rights policies and adverse birth outcomes. The investigators further evaluated if the associations were different for women of color and immigrants. The findings show that women, particularly US-born Black women, giving birth in states with less restrictive reproductive rights policies have a seven percent lower low-birth weight risk, compared to women in states with more restrictive policies.

Citing: Women’s Reproductive Rights Policies and Adverse Birth Outcomes: A State-Level Analysis to Assess the Role of Race and Nativity Status by May Sudhinaraset, Dovile Vilda, Jessica D. Gipson, Marta Bornstein, and Maeve E. Wallace at the American Journal for Preventative Medicine

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Men have been promoted 3 times more than women during the pandemic, study finds

| Michelle Fox | October 13, 2020

Working mothers are being disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic — and experts fear it could have a significant impact on their financial future. From job losses to career downsizing, women are feeling the hit. When it comes to promotions, they are also being left behind: 34% of men working remotely with children at home said they received a promotion, versus 9% of women in the same situation, according to a new study based on data from over a thousand salaried U.S. employees. The study also found that 26% of men with children at home said they received a pay raise while working remotely, compared to 13% of women with children at home.

Citing: Not in the same boat: Career progression in the pandemic by Ben Rogers at Qualtrics and theBoardlist

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Women are systemically excluded from global coronavirus coverage, experts say

| Miriam Berger | October 8, 2020

Last month’s Gates Foundation report analyzed coronavirus coverage published in mainstream publications online in the United Kingdom, the United States, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and India. The study focused on articles identified by Google’s news search engine as highly ranked between March 1 and April 15. It found that women are “worryingly marginalized.” On average, every female voice in a coronavirus story was “drowned out” by at least three male interviewees, the study concluded. Women were four times less likely to feature as experts and commentators and are more likely to be used as sources sharing subjective views than experts sharing authoritative expertise.

Citing: The Missing Perspectives of Women in COVID-19 News by Luba Kassova at the International Women’s Media Foundation

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How the Coronavirus Crisis Threatens to Set Back Women’s Careers

| Lauren Weber and Vanessa Fuhrmans | September 30, 2020

Many women—particularly mothers—say they may have to step back or away from jobs they still have, a new major study shows. Though the pandemic has forced fathers and mothers to juggle careers with child care and remote schooling, women often shoulder the brunt of those responsibilities. That outsize burden has long-term consequences: About one in five working mothers surveyed say they are considering dropping out of the workforce, at least temporarily, compared with 11% of fathers. An additional 15% of mothers report they may dial back their careers, either by cutting their hours or switching to a less-demanding role. Among women with young children, the struggle is especially acute: Nearly a quarter say they may take a leave of absence or quit altogether.

Citing: Women in the Workplace 2020 by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org

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New Research Reports

Gender Pay Gap Reporting: A Comparative Analysis

Fawcett Society and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership | October 14, 2020

This report maps international gender pay gap reporting legislation, with the goal of highlighting best practices internationally and a way forward for the UK. The report highlights the breadth of activity in terms of gender pay gap reporting legislation internationally as well as drawing attention to the strengths of the current UK legislation, and the opportunities moving forward. In terms of transparency and compliance, the UK can be proud of its current world-leading position, but it still has work to do regarding the limited requirements in terms of data and action currently placed on employers. The report also highlights ten other nations and their gender pay reporting practices.

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Women’s Rights Online: closing the digital gender gap for a more equal world

World Wide Web Foundation | Chenaj Chair, Ingrid Brudvig, and Calum Cameron | October 12, 2020

This report provides a global snapshot of the state of digital gender inequality and illustrates the barriers that women face in accessing and using the internet. The Foundation surveyed almost 10,000 women and men across four countries — Colombia, Ghana, Indonesia and Uganda — to find out whether and how they use the internet, and their experiences using the internet. The surveys are complemented by qualitative focus groups with women and men and key informant interviews with government and civil society representatives. Theis Web Foundation analysis has found men are 21% more likely to be online than women — rising to 52% in the world’s least developed countries (LDCs). And this gender gap in internet access continues to grow. Data from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) suggests that globally it has increased by 55% between 2013 to 2019.

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Gender Disparities in Financial Well-Being from the Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia | Jennifer Fernandez and Anna Tranfaglia | October 2020

This report analyzes gender differences with respect to individuals’ banking habits, credit access, and retirement planning from the Federal Reserve Board’s 2018 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED). Beyond simply uncovering the disparities, this analysis provides information on the role that financial literacy, race and ethnicity, household composition, household income, and educational attainment play in these outcomes. Multiple regression models are included to analyze the persistence of the gender differences after accounting for socioeconomic characteristics and financial literacy level. The descriptive analysis suggests that men’s and women’s financial lives are different across a number of dimensions, including banking, credit, and retirement planning.

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Learning from the Past: How Prior Federal Legislative Efforts Can Inform Future Legislative Strategies

New America | Kelly Rolfes-Haase and Vicki Shabo | October 1, 2020

In order to help inform paid leave advocates' and lawmakers' federal policymaking efforts, this report examines five diverse case studies involving six federal legislative initiatives between the late 1980 and 2018. It analyzes the roles of government actors; individuals and organizations outside of government; the broader political and policy context; contextual factors and focusing events; and policy frames in the success or failure of federal legislation. It identifies key takeaways that may apply to other legislative initiatives, including paid family and medical leave. The findings illustrate the importance of relationship building, strategic thinking, flexibility in seizing unexpected opportunities, deliberate marketing and creativity in pursuing legislative objectives.

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2020 Progress Update: MeToo Workplace Reforms in the States

National Women’s Law Center | Andrea Johnson, Ramya Sekaran, and Sasha Gombar | September 29, 2020

Three years after #MeToo went viral, the unleashed power of survivor voices has led to more than 230 bills being introduced in state legislatures to strengthen protections against workplace harassment and a remarkable 19 states enacting new protections. This report provides an updated overview of the progress that has been made in advancing workplace anti-harassment reforms in the states from October 2017 to September 2020, as well as in New York City which has been especially active in strengthening its anti-harassment laws. The report also highlights some of the stories of how survivors have led the push for these important state law reforms.

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Flexible Wages, Bargaining, and the Gender Gap

IZA Institute of Labor Economics | Barbara Biasi and Heather Sarsons | September 2020

To answer the question of whether or not flexible pay increases the gender wage gap, this study analyzes the wages of public school teachers in Wisconsin, where at 2011 reform allowed school districts to set teachers’ pay more flexibly and engage in individual negotiations. Using variation in the timing of the introduction of flexible pay this study shows that flexible pay increased the gender pay gap among teachers with the same credentials. This gap is larger for younger teachers and absent for teachers working under a female principal or superintendent. Survey evidence suggests that the gap is partly driven by women not engaging in negotiations over pay, especially when the counterpart is a man. This gap is not driven by gender differences in job mobility, ability, or a higher demand for male teachers.

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