State PAL Publications

Investing in Economic Opportunity for Women in North Carolina

New release! This is the latest report in IWPR’s longstanding Status of Women series. Investing in Economic Opportunity for Women in North Carolina is the first Status of Women report to draw from the state-level data, policy recommendations and state legislative tracking featured on State PAL.

Status of Women: Illinois Snapshot

This state snapshot provides insights into the status of women in Illinois using the June 2025 data and policy tracking from State PAL.

DC Paid Leave: Access and Impact on Workers

This report summarizes findings from interviews with beneficiaries of DC Paid Family Leave. These conversations provided insights into how having access to paid leave benefits impacted participants’ financial, mental, and physical well-being, as well as their ability to perform their caregiving responsibilities and their feelings about their jobs.

Post-Roe, Employees Want—and Expect—Businesses to Help with Reproductive Health Access

This research brief presents research findings exposing how state-level abortion restrictions are influencing where people live and work and what they look for in employers.

Why Are States Trying to Bury the Truth About Preventable Deaths of Pregnant Women?

This blog discusses the recent trend in abortion ban states to push their maternal mortality review committees, outspoken members, and the critical data they review into the shadows.

Want to Help Women? Get Rid of the Tipped Minimum Wage

This fact sheet provides national and state-by-state estimates of the gender, racial, and ethnic composition of the server workforce, as well as estimates of median annual earnings and the proportion of servers who earned below the federal poverty level.

How Hawai’i’s Child Care Crisis Impacts Women’s Ability to Succeed in the Workforce

This blog describes how the high cost and undersupply of child care in Hawai'i hinders parents—and particularly mothers—from participating fully in the workforce.

Native Women Won’t Reach Pay Equity Until 2202

This fact sheet highlights the severe wage equity disparities faced by Native women and the far-reaching economic impact of the gender pay gap nationally and state-by-state.

Yet Again, Voters Demand Reproductive Freedom at the Polls

This blog describes the ten abortion ballot initiatives voted on in the November 2024 election.

The Economic and Workforce Impact of Restrictive Abortion Laws

This report examines the far-reaching economic effects of the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which overturned Roe v. Wade and gave states the authority to ban abortion.

Latina Women Won’t Reach Pay Equity with White Men Until 2198

This fact sheet analyzes the persistently wide earnings gap between Hispanic or Latina women and White non-Hispanic men nationally and state-by-state.

State by State, Mothers are Paid Less than Fathers

This fact sheet provides national and state-by-state median annual earnings data for mothers and fathers of children younger than 18 and highlights parental earnings gaps by race and ethnicity.

The Economic Impacts of Reproductive Restrictions in Florida

This briefing paper describes the economic impacts of reproductive restrictions in Florida since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion in 2022.

Black Women Won’t Reach Pay Equity Until 2227

This fact sheet shows that Black women face a substantial gap in earnings compared to White men in each state.

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Women Earn Less than White Men in All but One State

This fact sheet provides national and state-by-state data on the earnings gap between Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) women and White men and explores the sociocultural reasons behind AANHPI women's lower earnings.