Reports & Toolkits

Third Anniversary of the Recovery Shows Job Growth for Women Slowed by Public Sector Job Losses

July 09, 2012

The deep recession that began in December 2007 was harder on male workers, but the recovery that officially began in June 2009 has been slower for women. After losing ground at the start of the recovery, the pace of the recovery has picked up for women. Three years into the recovery (June 2009 to June 2012), women have gained back 24 percent of the jobs they lost during the recession; men have gained back 39 percent.

Health Care Law Litigation

June 27, 2012

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have brought various lawsuits claiming that Congress lacked authority to pass the ACA but it is well-settled that the Commerce Clause of the Constitution allows Congress to make laws addressing national economic problems. The ACA addresses a national breakdown in the health insurance market that has resulted in widespread denials of coverage, limited access to health care, and increased health care costs. By addressing the economic impacts of the discrimination that women face in the health insurance market, it also falls within a long tradition of civil rights laws falling well within Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause.

A Pregnancy Test for Schools: The Impact of Education Laws on Pregnant and Parenting Students

June 18, 2012
Pregnancy Test report cover

Parenthood is not the end of the road for teen moms. Quite to the contrary, motherhood can serve as an educational motivator for many young women. Unfortunately, educational barriers and discrimination often thwart this drive and determination. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is the landmark law that bans sex discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities. Despite Title IX’s prohibition against sex discrimination, there are schools across the country that continue to bar pregnant and parenting students from activities, kick them out of school, pressure them to attend alternative programs, and penalize them for pregnancy-related absences.

A Pregnancy Test for Schools outlines the ways that federal, state, and local laws, policies, and programs can change the landscape for pregnant and parenting students and ranks how well the state laws and policies address the needs of these students.

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. 

American Recovery & Reinvestment Act Resources

September 02, 2011