Overview
Many workers in the US experience limited opportunities and are over- or underrepresented in certain kinds of jobs because of occupational segregation and discrimination. They are affected in adverse and unequal ways in the labor market based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, ability, and other demographic characteristics. WorkRise generates evidence on and elevates our understanding of how demographic disparities and inequities can be addressed to promote economic mobility for all workers and create a more equitable labor market.
Working Knowledge
Federal policy
June 28, 2022
Article
Roe v. Wade’s Reversal Poses a Disproportionate Threat to Black Women’s Economic Mobility
The June 24 US Supreme Court ruling, which struck down the constitutional right to an abortion, will undermine Black women’s educational attainment, occupational outcomes, and lifetime earnings.
June 28, 2022
Demographic disparities
May 26, 2022
Article
New Student Research Builds Evidence on Different Dimensions of Inequality
WorkRise grantee, the Opportunity Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, hosted a convening where student researchers shared new work examining historical roots and international examples of labor market inequality.
May 26, 2022
Research
Federal policy
March 29, 2022
Income Inequality, Race, and the EITC
New grantee research finds the 1993 expansion of the earned income tax credit reduced income inequality among Black and white households in the lower half of the income distribution through a significant employment response among Black households.
March 29, 2022
Demographic disparities
September 28, 2020
Racial Inequality in the Labor Market and Employment Opportunities
This brief explores the persistent inequities and disparities in outcomes experienced by people of color in the U.S. labor market through key data points, delves into root causes based on a review of the evidence, and identifies key gaps in our knowledge of why and how labor market inequality endures.
September 28, 2020