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Reports & Toolkits

A "Man"ufacturing Comeback: Men's and Women's Employment Gains and Losses in 2011

March 19, 2012

In 2011 manufacturing employment increased for the first time in more than a decade, with annual average employment rising by 205,000 jobs. Unfortunately, women did not share in these gains. In fact, between 2010 and 2011 men’s annual average employment in manufacturing increased by 230,000 jobs while women’s dropped by 25,000 jobs.

REPORT: Turning to Fairness: Insurance Discrimination Against Women Today and the Affordable Care Act

March 16, 2012

Through our research we have found that women are continuously charged more for health coverage simply because they are women, and individual market health plans often exclude coverage for services that only women need, like maternity coverage. The report provides an in-depth analysis of these inequalities and explains how the Affordable Care Act explicitly removes these discriminations by 2014.

Tipped Over the Edge: Gender Inequity in the Restaurant Industry

March 07, 2012

The National Women's Law Center contributed research to a report by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United about gender inequity in the restaurant industry and the inadequacy of the current $2.13 minimum cash wage for tipped employees.

A Count for Quality: Child Care Center Directors on Rating and Improvement Systems

February 23, 2012

This report discusses child care center directors’ perspectives on Quality Rating and Improvement Systems and offers recommendations for strengthening QRIS so that they are more effective in helping families access high-quality care.

State Child Care Assistance Policies Report Series

October 11, 2011

This nationwide annual analysis by the National Women's Law Center compares child care assistance policies from year to year and to and 2001 in four policy areas: income eligibility, waiting lists for assistance, copayment requirements and reimbursement rates for providers. Some states have made progress, but most states continue to be behind where they were in 2001.

Poverty Among Women and Families, 2000-2010: Extreme Poverty Reaches Record Level as Congress Faces Critical Choices

September 16, 2011

2010 marked the first full year of the recovery that began when the “Great Recession” officially ended in June 2009 but the latest Census Bureau data show that rates of poverty and extreme poverty rose in 2010, hitting women and families hardest. 

Fulfilling the Promise of 2014: Aligning and Simplifying Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment for Children and Parents

August 30, 2011

This brief, authored by Georgetown University Center for Children and National Women's Law Center, looks at current state efforts to align and simplify coverage for children and parents in Medicaid  and how the ACA moves states toward a more coordinated system of family-based coverage. As we examine these policies, it important to note that aligning policies and procedures is beneficial to states, as well as families. Simplified rules and requirements make it easier to communicate program information and to train eligibility workers, resulting in more consistent and accurate eligibility determinations. States that have maximized alignment and simplification policies not only ensure that eligible persons get and stay enrolled but also reduce the state’s administrative burden and costs, a high priority in the current fiscal environment. Finally, this brief makes suggestions on how states can transition toward ACA implementation and raises issues for further consideration.

Protecting Programs for Low-Income People in Deficit Reduction Plans Is Vital to Women and Their Families

August 23, 2011

Women and their families should not bear the brunt of deficit reduction.  Any agreement on deficit reduction must neither cut low-income assistance programs directly nor subject these programs to future cuts under automatic enforcement mechanisms.  Increased revenues from those with the greatest ability to pay must be a major part of any deficit reduction plan.  Maintaining and strengthening programs like those described in this report protects the most vulnerable today and expands opportunity for a stronger shared future. 

Cutting the Social Security COLA by Changing the Way Inflation Is Calculated Would Especially Hurt Women

June 23, 2011

Cutting the Social Security COLA by Changing the Way Inflation is Calculated Would Especially Hurt Women shows that women will be hit hardest by changing the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment from the CPI-W to the “chained CPI”.  This proposed change delivers a triple whammy to women.  Since women live longer than men, they face deeper cuts in their Social Security benefits under the chained CPI because the cuts get larger each year.  Women rely more on income from Social Security than do men, so these cuts would represent a greater share of their total retirement income.  And since older women are already more economically vulnerable than older men, these cuts will leave more of them unable to meet basic needs.