This report identifies 12 evidence-based practices companies can use to help break down barriers women face in the workplace while simultaneously creating a competitive business advantage. This resource has applications for employers and the practitioners who work with them to create and implement policies that support a workplace that is gender inclusive.

In this paper, authors Karen L. Corman and Ryne C. Posey outline several key considerations for implementing a pay audit to assess pay disparities among current and incoming staff. Topics explored include the potential benefits and drawbacks of pay equity audits, the purpose and parameters of the audit, privilege considerations, practical guidance for conducting the audit, and post-audit considerations and remediation strategies. HR professionals and other individuals involved in conducting pay audits may find this resource useful. Additionally, those who work with employers may be interested in sharing this with their partners. You may access this downloadable document by clicking on the “PDF” symbol towards the top, right-hand side of the linked webpage.

What will it take to make sure everyone in the United States has quality jobs?

The Aspen Institute and Urban Institute have been exploring this issue through different vantage points, to better understand the challenges that we face and the implications for policies and practices that improve job quality. And while the issue of quality jobs is one of national importance, solutions also need to respond to the needs of different places and communities across the country and be inclusive of all, regardless of race, gender, or other factors. Governments at all levels, businesses, civic, labor, and community organizations and more, all have roles to play in addressing the need for quality work.

What do we know and what do we need to know so that we can build a world of work in which hard work truly does lead to a dignified living? This conversation brings together different experiences and perspectives to explore this question. We feature a senior researcher from the Urban Institute together with Aspen Institute Job Quality Fellows from business, community development finance, and workforce and policy development who are working to create quality jobs in their communities.

Since 2008, more than 2.5 million new jobs were created in the most prosperous ZIP codes, while the least prosperous areas lost nearly 1.5 million jobs, according to research from the Economic Innovation Group. New jobs have flowed into cities, with rural areas across the country still yet to fully recover from the Great Recession. And within cities prosperity is not broadly shared; income inequality is higher in large cities than the country as a whole and wealth inequality has a large and persistent racial bias.

Opportunity Zone investments have the potential to address these economic divides by supporting small business growth and local ownership in communities that have thus far been left out of the recovery. But effort and expertise are needed to ensure that these investments create opportunities that reach people in the targeted communities, and that they extend to women, people of color, those who have been involved with the justice system, and others who have traditionally faced barriers to economic opportunity.

This event explores these issues and considers ideas to focus Opportunity Zone investments in ways that will create jobs and wealth for communities and support small business development and ownership in places that have for too long been left on the sidelines of the economy.

Food retailers play an important role in communities, serving as major employers and anchor institutions. But local chains are facing challenges from market consolidation, new competitors, and new technologies that threaten to alter business operations and replace workers. Some stores are finding ways to differentiate and improve business performance by investing in workers – which helps them create exceptional customer service and cater to local communities. Research by the National Grocers Association, the trade association for independent supermarkets, indicates that more than 80 percent of consumers still prefer their local store to an online alternative, and they value local, quality items and friendly staff.

This event explores how grocers can succeed – and can advance economic and racial equity – by investing in workers. Bringing together food access advocates, food retail leaders, and workforce development experts, we discuss what consumers, business owners, and policymakers can do to encourage good working conditions for the people behind our groceries.

While the low quality of many “essential” jobs became more apparent during the pandemic, the issue of low-quality jobs is longstanding. This publication is based on a survey of organizations about their efforts to advance job quality. Survey responses were gathered before the effects of the pandemic took hold, and understanding perspectives on job quality then can give us important insights as we tackle the urgent challenge of improving job quality now. Many organizations are working to improve job quality both within their own organizations and externally, but they face a variety of challenges. They are eager for more tools and resources to support their efforts.

In July 2017, the Aspen Institute convened its second annual Economic Security Summit, “Reconnecting Work and Wealth: Constructing a New American Middle Class.” Where a cross-section of leaders from industry, academia, philanthropy, government, and nonprofit organizations grappled with how to restore widespread economic prosperity to families and communities all across America. This report captures the ideas that emerged as participants debated factors contributing to the growing economic divide, what inequality means for our democracy, and potential opportunities to strengthen family economic security and upward mobility in the 21st century.

This guidebook offers an equity-based approach to research to strengthen the quality and authenticity of information used to drive decision-making. The guide addresses existing power dynamics and unintended biases in the creation of research and focuses on community members as authors and owners of information. In addition to describing seven inequities and opportunities for change in the research process, this resource provides guidance for community organizations, researchers, and funders. This resource may be particularly useful to individuals and organizations interested in centering input from community organizations, community members, and/or workers to inform job quality strategies.

This case study of a company in Milwaukee is part of an Equity in Apprenticeship series highlighting programs that use apprenticeship to extend career opportunities to historically marginalized groups. Employers and practitioners can glean lessons related to achieving equitable outcomes through apprenticeship programs.

This racial equity tool is designed to support workforce development organizations and practitioners to advance their racial equity practice. The assessment guides workforce development organizations and practitioners to evaluate their programs, operations, and culture in order to identify areas of strength and opportunities for growth. Practitioners can use the toolkit to explore approaches that support institutional racial equity, evaluate their current efforts, and plan next steps to strengthen their practices.