In 2021, Child Trends was selected to conduct a literature review and develop a policy and practice report to map the history of systemic racism in the U.S. and how it has influenced early childhood education (ECE) policy and practice, with a particular focus on educator pay and benefits, preparation, and workforce stability. This report…

Contingent workers are those employed in jobs that do not fit the traditional description of a full-time, permanent job with benefits. Contingent work takes the form of part-time, temporary, and contract employment. The number of contingent workers in 1988 has been estimated at between 29.9 and 36.6 million, representing 25-30 percent of the…

A survey of Association of Research Libraries library members studied their use of temporary librarians, paraprofessionals, and clerical workers. This report of the findings covers advantages and disadvantages of temporary help, extent of their use, and wages and benefits. Recommendations for hiring, training, and evaluation of temporary staff are…

Although what the work companies do and how they do it have shifted significantly, companies' reward and salary structures have remained largely the same; however, a properly designed compensation and pay system can be a strategic tool to enhance a firm's competitiveness. New approaches tie pay more closely to performance, rather than to tenure…

Older women, who comprise two-thirds of the retired U.S. population, share substantially less of the $1.3 trillion worth of over 800,000 private and public pension plans by every way of measurement. Of the one-in-five women receiving pension income, some obtain it from their own paid work history, while others are widows and divorced women who…

This paper examines a number of issues associated with part-time faculty in community colleges. In the area of part-time faculty integration, the author surveyed 28 Florida colleges using an online survey, and received responses from 20, for a response rate of 71.4%. The survey contained five questions: (1) Are adjunct/part-time faculty listed in…

This publication consists of 73 figures correlated to short summaries that present an overview of employment in the health care field from 1993 to 1998. Most of the information is from public sources. The statistics focus on registered nurses, but also include laboratory technicians, licensed practical nurses, medical scientists, occupational…

Relatively little is known about how unions affect employers because of a lack of data and research at the level of the firm. The little evidence available suggests that the effects are complex and go well beyond the effects associated with higher wages. In particular, a better understanding of the role that unions play in providing training and…

Fifty-four percent of all midlife and older American women are in the work force. Like their younger counterparts, most older women work in nonprofessional occupations. Regardless of their age, working women earn less than men. Sixty-five percent of working women aged 45 to 64 are married; 30 percent are widowed, divorced, or separated; and 5…

In 1998, the proportion of full-time faculty at U.S. community colleges was reported to be 36%, versus 64% part time. Adjunct faculty are attractive to community colleges primarily because they provide low-cost labor. The conditions under which many community college adjunct faculty work can contribute to their marginalization as a kind of…