Dear Friends,

The pandemic has forced us all, in our private and professional lives, to re-think work. Women are especially eager to return to the workforce, but work needs to make sense for them and their families. And right now, as an important survey released by IWPR today reveals, there is a wide gap between the benefits women need and what they currently receive.

Our survey brief, The Pandemic Effect: Women Want Good Pay, Health Coverage, and Better Benefits as They Re-Enter Workforce, found that more than 75 percent of women rate paid leave, health insurance, or job security as “very important” or “important” when considering future jobs, but at least 1 in three women workers say they currently lack one or more of these critical benefits.

IWPR’s survey also showed that a majority of women report the following as “very important” or “important” factors when considering future employment:

Nearly 90 percent of women rate a “living wage” as “very important” or “important” in their employment decisions.
The same was true of health insurance (86 percent), retirement benefits (85 percent), job security (81 percent), paid vacation (79 percent), paid sick leave (77 percent), and paid family leave (77 percent).
Over six in ten women rated flexibility as “very important” or “important” as they consider future jobs.
Yet, paid sick and family leave remains an elusive benefit for many, with over one-third of women (38 percent) employed full-time reporting they do not have paid sick leave and 65 percent reporting they do not have paid family leave.

It is clear that as women chart a path back from the pandemic, businesses—small and large—will be key drivers and help determine when and how women re-enter the workforce.

I encourage you to read through the full survey brief here. It is a prime example of IWPR's important and ongoing work to explore women's workplace challenges in search of real solutions for change.

In solidarity,



Institute for Women's Policy Research

1200 18th Street NW, Suite 301

Washington DC, 20036
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Institute for Women's Policy Research
1200 18th Street NW, Suite 301
Washington, DC 20036
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