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

A group of co-workers of varying genders having a meeting
Employer practices Last updated on June 04, 2024
Article

Better Business Outcomes: Here are the Basics of LGBTQ+ Workplace Policies and Practices

Business goals and worker well-being can be improved through strong LGBTQ+ workplace policies and practices, which research shows benefit workers’ well-being and firms’ financial performances.

Oluwasekemi Odumosu

Last updated on June 04, 2024
Manual workers in cheese and milk dairy production factory.
Employer practices Last updated on May 28, 2024
Video

WorkRise Shorts: Racial and Gender Discrimination in the Temporary Staffing Sector

The temporary staffing industry is a $186-billion industry, widely used across sectors from food processing to product creation. Temp staffing can be used to skirt liability, and staffing agencies and the companies that use them create a second-tiered workforce, says Lorraine Sands, legal organizer at GLOW: Grassroots Law and Organizing for Workers. To advance the process of bettering temp workers’ rights, this research highlighted how racial and gender discrimination is often pervasive in the temporary staffing sector. The report explores the national context but focuses particularly on Harris County, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee.
Last updated on May 28, 2024
African American man holding document while working on computer.
Employer practices Last updated on May 21, 2024
Research Summary

Challenges to Unemployment Insurance Claims by Some Businesses Limit Access to UI Income Support for Low-Wage Workers

Low-wage workers are less likely to submit a claim for unemployment insurance and more likely to have their claims appealed by their former employers than median-wage workers. New research shows that current UI policies may contribute to these disparities by incentivizing some businesses to appeal UI claims and prevent eligible workers from receiving needed income support, in part by potentially deterring them from applying at all.

Annabel Stattelman Scanlan

Last updated on May 21, 2024
Midsection of young disabled woman using computer at home
Social determinants of work Last updated on May 14, 2024
Research Summary

Creating Pathways to Remote Work Opportunities for Workers with Disabilities

Remote work can offer significant benefits for both workers and businesses and provides important opportunities for the meaningful inclusion of workers with disabilities. Employers, policymakers, workforce developers, and educational institutions all have an important role to play in reducing occupational segregation among disabled workers to open equitable pathways to remote work arrangements and career mobility.

Oluwasekemi Odumosu

Last updated on May 14, 2024

Research

Job search and matching Brief August 09, 2023

Search and Matching for Jobseekers

Each month, millions of workers in the United States move into or out of jobs. For workers in low-wage employment, transitions to new, higher-paying positions are an important driver of upward economic mobility. For those out of work, regaining…

Joe Peck , William J. Congdon

WorkRise Research

August 09, 2023
Social determinants of work Executive Summary July 13, 2023

The Rise and Fall of Underemployment: Implications for Workers' Health

This brief offers an overview of the literature exploring the connection between underemployment and health outcomes. Public policies can be crucial in mitigating the negative health effects associated with underemployment. However, more comprehensive data on transitions into and out of underemployment are required to inform future research and policy initiatives.

Lonnie Golden, Jaeseung Kim

Grantee Research

July 13, 2023
Employer practices Executive Summary June 26, 2023

A Workplace Divided: Survey Research and Stakeholder Engagement to Advance Equitable Workplaces

A national survey by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University explores workers' perceptions of discrimination and unfair treatment based on race and ethnicity. The survey reveals significant percentages of Asian-American, Black, and Latino workers experience discrimination in private-sector and government workplaces. Black workers are more likely to view workplace discrimination as a significant problem than white workers, with Black female workers reporting the highest levels of discrimination. The study highlights the impact of discrimination on career advancement and the need for government and employer interventions to promote workplace equity.

Carl E. Van Horn, Ronald Quincy, Jessica Starace, Anton House

Grantee Research

June 26, 2023
Skills and training Executive Summary April 03, 2023

Navigating Public Job Training

Right now, more than 75,000 Eligible Training Provider (ETP) job programs are eligible for funding under America’s primary federal workforce development law, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). How well do these public investments prepare workers for high-quality jobs? In this analysis, authors combine training provider and program data from the US Department of Labor with performance records and occupational data to study the types of providers receiving WIOA funding and the kinds of jobs for which they offer training. The report also reviews websites for all 50 states to understand how easily potential job trainees can access information on these programs.

David Deming, Alexis Gable, Rachel Lipson, Arkādijs Zvaigzne

Grantee Research

April 03, 2023