WorkRise Awards $3 Million to Advance Worker Mobility
The projects selected build on foundations laid through previous research investments from WorkRise and break new ground in emerging areas of focus, particularly in small business practices.
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The projects selected build on foundations laid through previous research investments from WorkRise and break new ground in emerging areas of focus, particularly in small business practices.
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
Skills and training
September 26, 2023The Impact of Student Debt on the Low-Wage Workforce
Student loan debt has a negative impact on labor market outcomes and economic mobility, with disparate economic impacts for low-wealth households. Burdens fall more heavily on Black and Latinx borrowers and those who did not complete their degree.
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The Latest
Employer practices
July 18, 2023
Article
New Evidence to Advance the Moral and Business Case for DEI in the Workplace
Three takeaways from WorkRise’s recent virtual gathering of experts and advocates distill the latest evidence on the importance of DEI in the workplace and lift strategies for companies seeking to foster equity.
Economic context
June 01, 2023
Article
Young workers’ economic mobility has improved since the start of the pandemic, but work remains to solidify these gains
Research shows that young workers have seen significant gains in their employment prospects since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Skills and training
June 09, 2023
Changemaker Q&A
Shifting Narratives and Policies to Support Black Workers’ Advancement: A Q&A with Bill Spriggs
Shifting focus away from skills gaps and worker shortages requires business, policy, and academic leaders to consider different solutions a shift away from individual failings to systemic inequities.
Skills and training
May 10, 2023
Article
Strategies for Success: Investing in Child Care and Employer-Led Workforce Development
The US needs greater investment in workforce development that aligns with what local employers needs, notes Cheryl Oldham, who leads workforce and education programs at the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Research
Social determinants of work
Report
March 15, 2022
Implications of Providing Child Care Assistance to Parents In Education and Training
New WorkRise research uses microsimulation to model a hypothetical policy scenario where more parents in education and training were eligible for and received public child care subsidies.
Grantee Research
Job search and matching
Executive Summary
January 14, 2022
Rise with the STARs
New research from WorkRise grantee Opportunity@Work demonstrates the harm and exclusion workers without four-year degrees who are “skilled through alternative routes” (STARs) experience in the labor market.
Grantee Research
Employer practices
Report
July 01, 2021
Skills, Degrees, and Labor Market Inequality
In a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, researchers demonstrate that workers with college degrees have dramatically better access to higher-wage occupations where the skill requirements exceed the workers’ observed skill compared to workers without degrees.
Grantee Research
Employer practices
Brief
October 07, 2020
The Challenge of Slow Wage Growth
Because of sluggish wage growth, middle- and low-wage workers in the United States are today doing little better in real terms than similarly situated workers 40 years ago, exacerbating economic burdens experienced by workers during the current COVID-19 crisis. This brief examines the evidence on wage growth for the typical worker over several decades and concludes that efforts to rebuild the U.S. labor market must include policies to accelerate wage growth.
WorkRise Research