Announcing 2024-2025 Washington State Labor Research Grant Recipients

Lisa Manzer, Director, Annie Kucklick, Research Manager, and Sarah Brolliar, Research Coordinator, The Center for Women's Welfare, School of Social Work

Assessing Wage Adequacy of Washington State Occupations: An Examination of Race and Gender Disparities’

Occupational segregation depresses labor force participation and increases the racial and gender wage gap, contributing to higher levels of economic inequality and poor health outcomes. This project, conducted by the Center for Women’s Welfare at the University of Washington, will examine occupational segregation in Washington State by identifying occupations with the highest and lowest rates of income adequacy and uncover the demographic distribution within these occupations. Despite high workforce participation, workers of color, but especially women workers of color, face income inadequacy due to their over-representation in low wage jobs. Using the Self-Sufficiency Standard, a measure that determines what it takes to cover basic needs, as the definition of income adequacy, the research will leverage data from the 2023 American Community Survey to examine the extent of racial and gender occupational segregation and its impact on economic inequality. Findings will inform policy solutions aimed at increasing economic security and reducing disparities in Washington State.

Will von Geldern, Ph.D. Candidate
Evans School of Public Policy and Governance

Precarious Employment, Housing Insecurity, and Eviction

In recent decades, stagnant wages and uncertain working conditions have become increasingly common for workers in the U.S. Scholars have used the multidimensional concept of precarious employment to identify the increasing prevalence and harmful impacts of low wages, unpredictable working hours, job-related health risks, limited training opportunities, and social isolation at work. As precarious work has become increasingly common, so has the experience of housing insecurity for families living at the economic margins. Despite these parallel trends, however, more research is needed to understand the relationships between working conditions and different aspects of housing insecurity. Without a thorough understanding of how employment precarity might beget housing insecurity, existing analyses might underestimate the multi-dimensional consequences of low-quality work for tenants who are faced with housing cost burdens. This study will closely examine the links between precarious work and housing evictions through qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with recently evicted tenants in Washington State. In doing so, this research aims to help labor studies scholars, legal aid practitioners, labor organizers, and policymakers understand how precarious work contributes to the prevalence and consequences of eviction.