Working Nation
How Women's Progress is Reshaping America's Families and Economy
When we look back over the 20th century and try to understand what has happened to workers and their families, the movement of women out of the home and into paid employment stands out as one of the most important transformations. Workplaces are no longer the domain of men: Women now make up half (49.8 percent) of employer's payrolls. Quite simply, women employed outside the home changes everything. We need to ensure that everyone—men and women, parents and non-parents alike—is able to meet the challenges of the workplace, while being able to provide care for their family. We need new ground rules that recognize this transformation.
Working Nation explores research and policy ideas behind and beyond The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything.
Featured Content
A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything
Women as half of all workers changes everything, and is the key piece to understanding why we are in a transformational moment.
Job Prospects Remain Dim for Millions of Workers
The unemployment rate for adult men hit 10.3 percent in September, higher than at any point since the end of World War II, writes Heather Boushey.
Family Income Free Fall
Heather Boushey analyzes new Census data and discusses the need for policies that boost employment in the short term and create sustainable growth in the long term.
Interactive Graphic: Equal Work Without Equal Pay
Women are close to surpassing men in the U.S. workforce. But this historic shift is not evidence of workplace equality, writes Heather Boushey.
Parenting with Dignity
CAP addresses meaningful ways to support pregnant women and new mothers in a new series.
Women Breadwinners, Men Unemployed
The Great Recession is 19 months old now and is increasingly hurting families who must rely more and more on wives’ incomes to stay afloat, writes Heather Boushey.Helping Breadwinners When It Can’t Wait: Heather Boushey lays out a progressive program that would guarantee Americans access to paid family and medical leave, giving a boost to workers, employers, and the economy.
Paid Parental Leave Helps Families and the Economy: The Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Act gives the federal government an opportunity to serve as a model employer, writes Ann O’Leary.
How Family Leave Laws Left Out Low-Income Workers: As women's overall workforce participation has increased, low-wage working women have become much less likely to have access to pregnancy and family leave than their professional counterparts.
Why the Fair Pay Act Isn't Enough: Pay discrimination is only a part of the problem.