Dear IWPR Friends and Colleagues,

A few months ago, I wrote to let you know that IWPR had begun its search for a new President, and that I was stepping down to pass the torch to the new President and CEO. This month IWPR’s Board of Directors selected a dynamic new leader who will help take IWPR to its next level of growth and impact. You will hear from her in the next few weeks and I’m excited for you to get to know her and hear about her plans.

In my note, I also told you that I would not be riding off into the sunset. I will continue to be a part of the IWPR community as President Emerita and Senior Research Economist. In my new roles, I will continue to advance IWPR’s influential work on paid family leave through our Policies for Action joint research hub with the University of California, Berkeley. I am thrilled to contribute to this field as momentum for paid family leave policies continues to accelerate around the country.

In addition to leading this work for IWPR, I am delighted to join the Urban Institute as a Fellow, where I will continue working on issues related to paid leave, women’s earnings, economic security, and inequality. I will also continue to serve as editor of the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, a premier academic journal that I have had the pleasure of editing for the past 15 years, and will make sure IWPR’s archive materials are carefully preserved at Harvard’s Schlesinger Library for future researchers. Through IWPR’s affiliation with the Program on Gender Analysis in Economics at American University, I will continue to serve as a Distinguished Economist-In-Residence for Gender and Economic Analysis at the university.

I am also planning to enjoy much more time with friends and family as well as sailing on the Chesapeake.

Thirty years ago, frustrated by the lack of evidence-based policymaking that could improve women’s opportunities and everyday lives, I decided to start IWPR. I dreamed of the day when the national conversation would focus on the real experiences of all women—based on reliable research, not myth or assumption—and, armed with data and analysis, take a critical look at how our economic and social policies could affect women’s choices and autonomy positively. Fortunately, public dialogue has come a long way since IWPR’s first days in 1987, and I like to think IWPR’s hard-hitting, unassailable research has been part of that progress. The next era will require policies to catch up with public sentiment—and I am confident that IWPR’s research will continue to provide the evidence base for the needed changes.

I am so proud of this organization and the work we have done. Thank you for the honor of working with you to build an enduring institution. The work continues!

With appreciation,

  

President Emerita and Senior Research Economist, Institute for Women’s Policy Research

Fellow, Urban Institute

Distinguished Economist, American University

 

 

 

PS. You can continue to reach me at my IWPR email ([email protected]). I look forward to hearing from you! And please come to my celebration, hosted by IWPR, on November 19, 5:30-8:00, at the AFL-CIO, Washington, DC. More details on that to come soon.