WorkRise Welcomes Seven New Leadership Board Members

Our incoming board members bring outstanding credibility and recognition from the full range of sectors involved in improving work and workers’ lives.

Learn more

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

In Depth

Social determinants of work

October 02, 2023

Who Is the Low-Wage Workforce?

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In Depth

Social determinants of work

October 02, 2023

Where Is the Low-Wage Workforce?

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Skills and training

September 26, 2023

The 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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Working Knowledge

The Latest

Workers talking at common coworking space tables
Economic context Last updated on April 16, 2024
Video

WorkRise Shorts: Racial Inequity in the Workplace with Adia Harvey Wingfield

Despite a multibillion-dollar diversity industry and decades passed since the Civil Rights Act, workplaces still see substantial racial inequity.
Last updated on April 16, 2024
Skills and training April 16, 2024
Article

Rethinking Career and Technical Education for Individuals Who Are Incarcerated: What Works?

A new study shows that individuals who complete career and technical education programs while incarcerated don’t have better employment outcomes or lower rates of recidivism when measured against a comparison group that did not. Instead of focusing on career-oriented programming, prisons should prioritize individuals with high needs, developing basic education programs and reducing practical barriers to employment.

Annabel Stattelman Scanlan

April 16, 2024
Economic context April 09, 2024
Video

WorkRise Shorts: Stepping-Stone Jobs with Michael Schultz 

Recent research explores whether low-wage jobs are “stepping stones” that enable workers to move to higher-paid jobs linked by institutional mobility ladders and skill transferability.
April 09, 2024
Skills and training April 03, 2024
Research Summary

The Key Benefits of Career and Technical Education Programs in High School

Career and technical education in high school is considered a way to increase earnings and education after students graduate, but it also is a tool to reduce the most adverse socioeconomic outcomes in the years immediately following graduation.

Madeleine Sirois

April 03, 2024

Research

Economic context Infographic September 12, 2023

Leveraging Federal Funds to Create Quality Jobs

Do you want better jobs for your community? Through new federal dollars, state and local policymakers have a once-in-a-generation chance to build a new and thriving workforce.

Pamela J. Loprest , Todd Greene, Ryan Kelsey

WorkRise Research

September 12, 2023
Worker voice, representation, and power Brief August 09, 2023

Worker Voice, Representation, and Power

In this brief, we provide a summary of the research framework that informs WorkRise’s thinking about the importance of worker voice and power for low-wage workers’ labor market mobility. We then offer a series of specific priority areas for future…

Joe Peck , Elisabeth Jacobs

WorkRise Research

August 09, 2023
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