The Economic Policy Institute said years of social programming and gender expectations can explain the complex reasons for the gender pay gap in the United States.
According to a recent study by the institute: “By the time a woman earns her first dollar, her occupational choice is the culmination of years of education, guidance by mentors, expectations set by those who raised her, hiring practices of firms, and widespread norms and expectations about work–family balance held by employers, co-workers and society,” the study says.
The Washington Post
October 10, 2016
The Economic Policy Institute founded by Bill Clinton’s former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, estimates true unemployment would be at 6.5 percent if “missing” workers were looking for work and included in statistics. Underemployment has also covered the gap for many unemployed workers as companies such as Uber, Lyft, and other gig operators offer individuals easily accessible employment, but at a cost.
The Hill
October 10, 2016
In 2015, the annual compensation for a chief executive of one of America’s largest companies was $15.5 million on average, seven times higher than it was just 30 years ago, according to data released in July from the Economic Policy Institute. Furthermore, CEOs now make 276 times more than the typical worker does, up from 123 times more just two decades ago and just 20 times more 50 years ago.
Market Watch
October 10, 2016
Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at Economic Policy Institute, told Morning Shift: “It’s still kind of hard to know where she stands on the issue today. On the one hand, publicly, she supported H-1Bs pretty strongly. Just a couple of years ago, she was pretty sympathetic to the tech industry’s position, including the desire to raise the [visa] cap. Then we had that Vox interview where she seemed more cautious or more skeptical, but didn’t really take any policy positions or say what kind of reform she wants.” Still, Morning Shift notes that in the Nexenta talk, as opposed to the Vox interview, Clinton actually said “H-1B” out loud.
Politico
October 10, 2016
Valerie Wilson of the Economic Policy Institute and Adia Harvey Wingfield of Washington University in St. Louis discuss a new study finding a greater racial wage gap in 2015 than in 1979.
NPR
October 8, 2016
Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said she’ll look beyond the headline numbers to get a better sense of things. She focuses on the share of working age people who are actually working. “What we know from looking at it today is that we have seen some recovery,” she said. “But we still have much more ground to cover to get back to the economy of 2007 and even more to get back to the full employment economy of 2000.”
Marketplace
October 7, 2016
Elise Gould, senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, said the slight increase to the unemployment rate was “the result of more workers entering the labor force, which may reflect optimism about future job prospects and economic growth.” Labor force participation was 62.9 percent, up from August’s 62.8 percent, but still close to its lowest level since the 1970s.
Politico
October 7, 2016
“We saw a mild uptick [in unemployment.] It is a movement for the right reasons as more people feel optimistic about the labour market and are coming back in search of jobs,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a think-tank. She estimates there are still nearly 2m “missing workers” on the sidelines of the labour market rather than being in the active labour force.
Financial Times
October 7, 2016
The Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, found the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour has not sufficiently kept up with rates of inflation, resulting in decreased purchasing power. Additionally, the 2015 study found the U.S. economy could sustain a raise in the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020.
Voice of America
October 7, 2016
The unemployed aren’t the only ones struggling. Over 25 percent of workers “earned poverty-level wages” according to the Economic Policy Institute. No worker should face poverty. A well designed job guarantee can rid America of the notion of the working poor – providing non-poverty wages, which would act as a price floor for the private sector.
U.S. News and World Report
October 7, 2016