Demographic disparities

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

Job search and matching December 15, 2021

If Left Unchecked, Algorithmic Decisionmaking Could Perpetuate Workplace Bias and Harms

This post highlights the challenges as well as the promise algorithms and other predictive tools hold for the workplace.

Jessica Shakesprere, Batia Katz

Demographic disparities May 24, 2021

Closing Digital Skill Gaps Created by Structural Inequities Could Enhance Young Workers’ Economic Resilience

Today’s labor market increasingly requires digital skills to search, apply for, and succeed in higher-wage jobs that are also associated with high…

Amanda Briggs, Ian Hecker

Demographic disparities April 13, 2021

Using Behavioral Design to Close the Gender Pay Gap

A new study from ideas42 and TIME's UP Foundation advocates for using behavioral design strategies to close the gender pay gap.

Archana Pyati

Employer practices March 03, 2021

Who Gets What Job? Taking a Racial Equity Approach to Improving Job Quality

Improving job quality for low-wage workers must address occupational segregation and unequal access to good jobs across race, ethnicity, and gender.

Jessica Shakesprere, Batia Katz, Archana Pyati

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.
Job search and matching 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.

Papia Debroy, Justin Heck

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.

K. Steven Brown