Press Release

WorkRise just awarded $2.8 million to support nine new pilot studies that test interventions designed to support workers' economic mobility.

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WorkRise is Growing

We have a number of opportunities to join our team! Applications will be accepted on a rolling bases via the Urban Careers website.

Positions include:

Grantmaking and Partnerships

Led by a cross-sector Leadership Board that is ideologically diverse and representative of often-siloed groups, WorkRise invests in research on policies, programs, and practices that have the potential to accelerate economic security and mobility for low-wage workers. We fund analyses and the creation of data that shed light on labor market barriers, trends, and opportunities. And we engage in strategic partnerships that help advance evidence-based solutions in support of our mission. Learn more about our most recent request for proposals and how you can collaborate with WorkRise.

Virtual Event
Female engineer showing the production plan to a worker on her digital tablet. Supervisor and female worker looking at digital tablet and discussing work in factory shop floor.
Worker voice, representation, and power Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Charting a Resilient Future for US Workers: Solutions to Navigate an Uncertain Economy

View event recordings below.

Amid seismic economic shifts, workers and families have experienced highs and lows. The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a once-in-a-lifetime economic shock, followed by a robust government…

Working Knowledge

The Latest

A fast food worker with a mask on working in the drive through window.
Worker voice, representation, and power January 17, 2023

California’s FAST Act Offers a Window on How Worker Standards Boards Could Improve Job Quality in the Fast Food Industry

A new California law establishes a 10-person council of fast food employers, workers, and advocates as well as government regulators to set wages and other workplace standards.

Joe Peck

Employer practices December 12, 2022

Study Finds That 62 Percent of Organizations Devote Little to No Resources to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Published by the Boston College School of Social Work, this article highlights key findings from the National Study of Workplace Equity, a survey of over 1,000 workplaces on DEI practices.
Couple looking at the damage done to their home and yard after a fire.
Economic context November 22, 2022

How Can the Forces of Change Be Harnessed to Create an Inclusive and Equitable Labor Market?

Greater public and private investment in job training, policies to support unionization, and efforts to close digital divides are core strategies for transforming risks from climate change and automation into opportunity, noted experts at the WorkRise October conference.

Joe Peck

Worker voice, representation, and power November 11, 2022

New Federal Industrial Policy Creates Incentives for High-Quality Jobs

The recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), alongside the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and CHIPS and Science Act, could shape the labor market in ways that benefit both workers and employers in industries poised for growth.

Joe Peck

Research

Employer practices December 10, 2022

The National Study of Workplace Equity

The National Study of Workplace Equity surveyed just over 1,000 workplaces to find that equity is inconsistently implemented across employment systems. Researchers from the Boston College School of Social Work and Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) find that equity is strongest in recruitment and hiring, compensation and benefits, and orientation and onboarding.

Samuel L. Bradley, Jr., Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Kathleen Christensen

Employer practices December 10, 2022

Executive Summary: The National Study of Workplace Equity

In a new study, researchers from Work Equity, an initiative at the Boston College School of Social Work, and SHRM find that much progress needs to be made on equity across the employment lifecycle. Based on a survey of just over 1,000 workplaces, researchers find that equity is implemented inconsistently across 10 discrete employment systems.

Samuel L. Bradley, Jr., Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Kathleen Christensen

Federal policy September 29, 2022

The EITC and Racial Income Inequality

A new analysis from WorkRise grantees finds that the earned income tax credit reduces racial income inequality among lower- and middle-income households but may widen it for households in deep poverty.

Bradley Hardy, Charles Hokayem, James Ziliak

Worker voice, representation, and power July 28, 2022

Worker Power and Economic Mobility: A Landscape Report

This landscape report summarizes empirical evidence on two main pathways for workers to exercise their power in the labor market: the ability to exit their current job for  better outside options and organizations and institutions that build worker voice within firms.  

Ioana Marinescu, Jake Rosenfeld

Job search and matching July 20, 2022

Search and Matching in Modern Labor Markets: A Landscape Report

This landscape report synthesizes research on how job seekers find work and how employers post and fill open positions in the labor market. It also explores frictions experienced by both parties and implications for workers’ economic mobility.

Alexander W. Bartik, Bryan A. Stuart