Women’s Eligibility for Unemployment Insurance: Disparities and Reforms

Abstract

America’s workforce is evolving. An increasing number of women and ‘nontraditional’ workers like part-time primary earners and ‘gig’ workers make up the labor force; yet, in many states these workers find themselves disadvantaged within the unemployment insurance program (UI). UI program requirements like full-time work availability and job separation reasons are overly burdensome to the non-traditional workforce, especially women. This study will seek to answer: how do reforms to UI programs affect the eligibility of women. Data shows women in some states are up to 25% less likely to be eligible for UI than men. Even though women are a major part of the workforce - as of 2018, 57% of the female population worked compared to 69% of men (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 2021) - they still face unique barriers like gender discrimination; motherhood penalties; and prevailing responsibility for child and elder care. These barriers lead to a precarious attachment to work or reduced wages for many women. Researchers and reformers have largely focused on the monetary eligibility aspect of UI as the largest barrier to program access and corresponding reforms. But, a growing number of studies have shown that it may be the nonmonetary criteria that is a bigger barrier for most workers, women included, and reforms for this criteria need to be focused on. This study estimated eligibility under traditional UI rules and if three popular reforms were implemented. Additionally, probit models were estimated using personal and work characteristics to measure effects on eligibility and how they differed across the simulated UI program rules.