Making “Free College” Programs Work for College Students with Children

With one in five college students raising children while in school, a new IWPR briefing paper finds that eligibility requirements for many college promise (or “free college”) programs need to change to include student parents, a demographic that is central to improving college access and equity.

“Free college’ has been a staple in many policy platforms championed by 2020 presidential candidates, and as the details of proposals are developed, they should recognize that student parents are central to achieving the country’s college equity and access goals that promise programs are designed to achieve,” says IWPR Study Director Lindsey Reichlin Cruse.

>>Read more about the findings in Diverse Issues in Higher Education.

>>Read the full report.

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A Woman-Centered Economic Agenda: 8 Policies that Boost the Economy and Work for Everyone

IWPR released a new 8-point economic agenda that compiles findings from a wide body of literature showing that prioritizing women-centered policies including equal pay, initiatives to address sexual harassment at work, paid leave, and affordable child care can improve the economy for everyone.

“Presidential candidates have an influential platform for shaping public dialogue on these issues, and state and local policymakers are on the front lines of advancing economic policies that affect women and their families. This agenda presents a roadmap for enacting policies that are backed up by rigorous research,” IWPR President Heidi Hartmann said.

>>Read the briefing paper.

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Review of Economic Research Finds that Access to Abortion Improves Women’s Economic Outcomes

Access to abortion increases women’s educational attainment and labor force participation, according to a new IWPR report, which synthesizes rigorous quantitative research on the economic impact of access to abortion in the United States and beyond. The report connects evidence from legislative changes in the 1970s to the current policy landscape and recent restrictions in access to abortion in the United States.

“Access to abortion affects women’s ability to make decisions not just about their own bodies, but about their educational and career aspirations, choices that shape the economic trajectory of their lives,” says Kelly Jones, Ph.D., director of IWPR’s Center on the Economics of Reproductive Health.

>>Read the full report.

>>Read the fact sheet.

[Watch Now] Capitol Hill Briefing: Women, Automation, and the Future of Work

IWPR and JPMorgan Chase & Co. co-hosted a Capitol Hill briefing to present findings from IWPR’s comprehensive new report, Women, Automation, and the Future of Work. The report presents the first comprehensive gender analysis of the potential impact of technological change on women's and men’s employment in the United States, with an emphasis on the likely effects for women, given the jobs where women predominantly work and the disproportionate share of home and family care done by women.

>>Miss the event? Watch the recording of the briefing, “Women, Automation, and the Future of Work,” on IWPR.org

New Report Studies Women's Health and Wellness in North Carolina

In the second of four reports commissioned by the North Carolina Council for Women and Youth Involvement, IWPR highlights the progress and challenges women in North Carolina face with respect to their health and wellness. The report analyzes state and county level data on women’s health, including chronic disease, physical health, sexual health, access to reproductive health services, and experiences of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

>>Read the report, Status of Women in North Carolina: Health and Wellness.

>>Read more on the report in WilmingtonBiz and Blue Ridge Public Radio.

Pay Equity & Future of Work

USA Today | Women are now seen as equally intelligent as men, study finds (July 18, 2019)

Houston Chronicle | U.S. women’s soccer team deserves fair pay. All women do. (July 14 2019)

CBS News | Tips for closing the gender wage gap (July 12, 2019)

Reuters | Equal pay for equal play -- US Women challenge pay inequality (July 11, 2019)

Bustle | How Do We Close The Gender Wage Gap? Experts Evaluate 2020 Candidate's Plans (July 10, 2019)

MarketWatch | Women now make up the majority of the college-educated workforce, but men are still paid more (June 21, 2019)

Fast Company | Here's how much Women's World Cup players are paid compared to men (June 7, 2019)

CBS News | Automation could throw millions of women out of work (June 6, 2019)

Equity in Higher Education

The Chronicle of Higher Education | Demand For Campus Child Care is Growing. Choosing How To Provide It Can Be Fraught. (July 2, 2019)

Diverse Issues in Higher Education | Policy Research: College Promise Programs Are Excluding Student Parents (June 27, 2019)

Philanthropy News Daily | Integrating Education Systems Benefits Families, Study Finds (June 3, 2019)

Violence & Safety

Paper | Women Have Always Rapped About Sex (June 13, 2019)

Climate Change

Dame | How Climate Change Makes Women Poorer (July 16, 2019)