In May, we celebrate Mother’s Day, a holiday created by Americans to honor our moms and their influence in society. With the presence of women with children in the workforce increasing, mothers are not only the glue that holds our homes together, but they are also the fuel helping to drive our economic recovery. Two-thirds of women with young children now work and nearly half are the primary breadwinner within their family. As more moms enter the workforce and “lean in” to build a successful career and household, however, the affordable, quality early care and education system their families need to lean on is noticeably absent. The women and moms working in the early care and education industry also face significant challenges. Low wages, few benefits and limited training or advancement opportunities are widespread in the early care and education industry, which contributes to high worker turnover, further eroding the quality of care.

In this event, speakers discuss how we can have both an early care and education system that provides good jobs and quality, affordable care.

Domestic workers—those that are employed in our homes to care for children, elderly and the disabled as well as perform a variety of other duties, such as cooking and cleaning—are critical to our economy, our society and our families’ well-being. Yet many domestic workers are paid little, receive no employee benefits, and may work in an environment with other challenges that can affect their health and safety.

At this event, panelists from academia, advocacy, organizing and philanthropy discuss the experiences of domestic workers and ideas and policies for improving their work. This event is the sixth discussion in a series titled, Reinventing Low Wage Work: Ideas That Can Work for Employees, Employers and the Economy, hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program.

On July 25th 2012, the Aspen Institute Workforce Strategies Initiative hosted a conversation titled, “Taking Inventory of Retail Jobs: A Discussion on Work in the Retail Industry.”

Featuring: Carrie Gleason, Executive Director, Retail Action Project; Kim Owen, Vice-President of Human Resources (retired), QuikTrip Corporation; Zeynep Ton, Adjunct Associate Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management. Moderated by Steven Greenhouse, Labor and Workplace Reporter for The New York Times.

This is the third conversation in a roundtable series in 2012 titled “Reinventing Low-Wage Work: Ideas That Can Work for Employees, Employers and the Economy.” Low-wage jobs are a growing part of the U.S. economy, and AspenWSI is excited to continue this conversation about the nature of low-wage work, the challenges it presents to workers, businesses and the economy, and the opportunities we have for addressing these challenges at the Aspen Institute at a time when jobs and the economy are such critical topics for our country.

This report illustrates the state of low-wage work in the retail industry and provides a profile of the Retail Action Project, an organization striving to improve job quality in retail.

This resource provides an overview of retail work in the United States including information about the demographics of workers in the industry, the size of the workforce, wages and benefits, and working conditions.

This resource provides an overview of the restaurant workforce in the United States including information about the demographics of workers in the industry, the size of the workforce, wages and benefits, and working conditions.

This resource provides an overview of residential construction work in the United States including information about the demographics of workers in the industry, the size of the workforce, wages and benefits, and working conditions.

This resource provides an overview of the direct-care workforce in the United States including information about the demographics of workers in the industry, the size of the workforce, wages and benefits, and working conditions.

In 2011, nearly 4 million workers were employed in direct-care positions, including nursing aides, home health aides, and personal care attendants. While direct-care workers play a critical role in supporting the lives of our elderly and disabled populations, direct-care jobs are often characterized by low-wages, few benefits or pathways for career advancement, as well as part-time hours.

On May 3rd 2012, the Aspen Institute Workforce Strategies Initiative hosted a conversation titled, “Better Care through Better Jobs: Improving Training and Employment for Direct Care Workers.” This is the second conversation in a roundtable series in 2012 titled “Reinventing Low Wage Work: Ideas That Can Work for Employees, Employers and the Economy.” Low wage jobs are a growing part of the U.S. economy, and AspenWSI is excited to continue this conversation about the nature of low-wage work, the challenges it presents to workers, businesses and the economy, and the opportunities we have for addressing these challenges at the Aspen Institute at a time when jobs and the economy are such critical topics for our country.

On March 7th 2012, the Aspen Institute Workforce Strategies Initiative hosted a conversation on “From Fast Food to Fine Cuisine: A Discussion on Work in the Restaurant Industry.” This is the first conversation in a roundtable series in 2012 titled “Reinventing Low-Wage Work: Ideas That Can Work for Employees, Employers and the Economy.”

Low-wage jobs are a growing part of the U.S. economy, and AspenWSI is excited to bring a conversation about the nature of this work, the challenges it presents to workers, businesses and the economy, and the opportunities we have for addressing these challenges to the Aspen Institute at a time when jobs and the economy are such critical topics for our country.