Economic Development & Security

Women are active players driving the economy, nationally and globally. They are important breadwinners for their families, grow most of the world’s food and are entering the formal and informal sectors of the labor market in increasing numbers. Despite their enormous contributions, women are still largely absent from leadership positions and their voices and perspectives are often missing from economic policymaking at the local, regional, national and international levels. To promote their wellbeing, women need access to adequate income and quality education to support themselves and their families. Women still earn less than men and make up a disproportionate number of the poor, both nationally and globally. In the United States, women’s wellbeing and advancement depend on their access to basic services, opportunities and safety nets, such as paid sick leave, affordable child care and elder care, advanced education, health care and adequate housing.

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Critical Issue: Measuring the impact of economic recovery efforts on women and families

Several experts from NCRW member centers are examining the impact of the Amercian Recovery and Reinvestment Act on women and low-income families. As efforts continue to restore and jumpstart the economy, it is critical that policymakers and the public be aware of how effective these efforts are at addressing the challenges faced by those left vulnerable by the recession, joblessness and the housing crisis. For more information, visit our Economic Stimulus Package page in the Projects and Programs tab.

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Blog Posts

This Sunday, bouquets of roses, Hallmark cards, and restaurant reservations will be deployed by citizenry anxious to promote and valorize an ideal...
Quality early care and education are truly a gifts that will keep on giving, not only to mothers but to all of us.  We’re not saying that...
Did you know that women are more likely to face negative social consequences for negotiating?  This seems to go against the pervasive...
A recent New York Times editorial states that under the Obama administration the homeless population has remained steady. The American Recovery and...
By Shyama Venkateswar, Ph.D.*I joined a distinguished panel of researchers, advocates, and experts at the Yale Club on Thursday, January 19th when I...

Member Experts

Dinah Asante is Executive Assistant to the President. She has an M.S. in Urban Policy from the New School and studied at Algonquin College in...
LyndaS's picture
Lynda M. Sagrestano, Ph.D. is the Director of the Center for Research on Women at the University of Memphis.  She earned a Ph.D. in social psychology...
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Nancy Biberman founded WHEDco in 1991 with the vision of restoring the South Bronx to the beautiful, bustling place it once was. WHEDco’s first...
nataliac's picture
Natalia Cardona, is the Constituency Engagement Manager at the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID). Cardona has worked on issues of...
EileenA's picture
Eileen Appelbaum joined the Center for Economic Policy and Research in 2010 after eight years at Rutgers University as Professor and Director of the...
Radhika's picture
Radhika Balakrishnan, Executive Director of the Center for Women's Global Leadership, and Professor, Women's and Gender Studies, has a Ph.D. in...
Rita HJ's picture
Rita Henley Jensen is Founder and Editor in Chief of award-winning nonprofit news service Women's eNews (www.womensenews.org) and its sister site...
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Dr. Mariko Chang is the author of the new book, Shortchanged: Why Women Have Less Wealth and What Can Be Done About It, and the main author of the...
Sari Pekkala Kerr is an economist and a senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College. She joined the WCW in 2010...

News

  • September 7, 2010

    Chronicle of Higher Education:  While three out of four fundraising and development jobs are held by women, more men hold the top fund-raising administrator positions running the nation's largest charities. 


  • Women Fight for Equality on the Trading Floor
    September 2, 2010

    FINS: Trading floors are lacking in women, as only 29% of those "selling and buying stocks, bonds and other instruments in the U.S. were women, some 333,000, according to figures compiled by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Female...


  • September 1, 2010

    The Times of India: Amendments to two laws governing adoption and guardianship now allow women to have equal rights.  A mother and a father can now both be appointed as guardians of adopted children, and married women who are separated from their...


  • September 1, 2010

    Institute for Women's Policy Research: a new report details how women continue to earn less than men, despite high education levels and job skills.  In fact, the more highly skilled and educated a woman is, the larger the gap between her male...


  • August 31, 2010

    FINS: Women are disappearing at brokerages, investment banks, and asset management companies, despite new programs designed to recruit and retain them.  At the same time, the ranks of men in the industry are continuing to grow, which suggests...