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.

The Latest
Employer practices Wednesday, December 18, 2024

How Businesses Can Advance Manufacturing's Future through Collaboration with Workers

Right now, US manufacturers face real challenges meeting their workforce needs. But with innovations in how jobs are designed—such as…

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

In Depth

Illustration of people of different ethnicities
Worker voice, representation, and power Feature Last updated on October 24, 2024

Segregation in the Low-Wage Workforce

Over the past 50 years, the composition of the low-wage workforce has changed: more than half of low-wage workers are now people of color, up from just 20 percent in 1971. Today, Black, Latino, and women workers are more likely to be segregated into worse-quality and lower-paying jobs.

WorkRise Research

Last updated on October 24, 2024
African American technician worker holds part of robotic arm
Employer practices Last updated on November 19, 2024
Video

WorkRise Shorts: Overcoming Racial Disparities in Manufacturing Recruitment and Training Programs

Can a new local manufacturing workforce development program that targets workers who are not traditionally engaged in the sector overcome racial disparities in its hiring and wage rates?
Last updated on November 19, 2024
Working Knowledge

The Latest

In Depth

Illustration of people of different ethnicities
Worker voice, representation, and power Feature Last updated on October 24, 2024

Segregation in the Low-Wage Workforce

Over the past 50 years, the composition of the low-wage workforce has changed: more than half of low-wage workers are now people of color, up from just 20 percent in 1971. Today, Black, Latino, and women workers are more likely to be segregated into worse-quality and lower-paying jobs.

WorkRise Research

Last updated on October 24, 2024

In Depth

Economic context Last updated on October 24, 2024

Low-Wage Work in America

For millions of people in America’s workforce, economic stability and upward mobility remain frustratingly out of reach. Low-wage workers all across the nation are living 

Last updated on October 24, 2024
Employer practices Last updated on October 08, 2024
Research Summary

Young Workers Need Support When They Can't Find Their Footing in the US Workforce

During recessions, young workers are less likely to find work and face lower wage growth than more experienced workers. Unemployment Insurance could be reformed to support these young workers as they navigate the labor market amid economic downturns at foundational times in their careers, alongside other policy tools that can be effective in these instances.

Madeleine Sirois

Last updated on October 08, 2024
Job search and matching Last updated on September 24, 2024
Research Summary

The Prison Credential Dilemma: Insights into Applying for Jobs with Qualifications Earned during Incarceration

Credentials typically help job seekers demonstrate their abilities to obtain better-paying jobs. One study, however, suggests that credentials earned in prison present job seekers with a dilemma: reveal their incarceration and showcase their qualifications or obscure both. Interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals in the United States reveal strategies and tactics deployed to improve labor market outcomes and implications.

Annabel Stattelman Scanlan

Last updated on September 24, 2024

Research

Employer practices Brief Last updated on September 19, 2024

Extreme Heat at Work

This research brief offers the first nationally representative estimates of how outdoor and indoor workers are affected by extreme heat, highlighting that low-wage workers, defined as adults earning less than $15 an hour, face greater risks than higher-wage earners.

Lisa Clemans-Cope, Dulce Gonzalez, Sara McTarnaghan, Michael Karpman

WorkRise Research

Last updated on September 19, 2024
Skills and training Report Last updated on August 27, 2024

Supporting Youth Economic Mobility through Employment-Focused Strategies

WorkRise’s new landscape research report on youth economic mobility reviews the evidence of programs and practices that help young workers succeed and advance in the labor market.

Shayne Spaulding, Madeleine Sirois, Amanda Briggs

WorkRise Research

Last updated on August 27, 2024
Workers talking in factory
Economic context Last updated on July 09, 2024

Expanding Worker Opportunities Through Evidence: WorkRise Impact Report 2023

By bridging knowledge gaps and forging multi-stakeholder partnerships among employers, worker advocates, policymakers, and practitioners, WorkRise is meaningfully improving economic mobility for lower-wage workers. Our 2023 Impact Report shares more about how we lead with rigorous yet actionable research and get it into the hands of the change makers best positioned to act on it.
Last updated on July 09, 2024
Employer practices Report Last updated on May 21, 2024

IKEA Self-Scheduling Intervention: Baseline Report

Widespread unpredictability in work scheduling leads to decreased job satisfaction, higher turnover rates, economic instability, and compromised worker health. To address these challenges, IKEA partnered with The Shift Project to develop a Self-Scheduling Intervention for its hourly workers to give them greater control over their shifts. They selected intervention and comparison stores to measure its impact on worker and business outcomes, and over four years, held weekly meetings to strategize and analyze data. This report contextualizes self-scheduling research, delves into pre-intervention conditions, introduces new features, outlines the research design, and explores future directions.

Grantee Research

Last updated on May 21, 2024