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Location: Virtual

In 2021, community development staff from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, and Philadelphia hosted a conference, Uneven Outcomes in the Labor Market: Understanding Trends and Identifying Solutions. The conference convened a diverse network of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to examine inequities in labor market outcomes and explore the implications of disparities on aggregate economic performance, individual workers, and communities. They also identified new directions for policy and research.

Understanding employment conditions requires evidence from a wide spectrum of sources. To this end, the Federal Reserve is interested in highlighting research that examines disparities in employment, labor force participation, income, and wealth across demographic groups. Do relatively low levels of labor force participation for some prime working-age groups represent slack that, if successfully tapped, could increase the labor force and boost economic activity? Do shocks to the labor market disproportionately affect certain groups? Because of past and present exclusionary policies and practices, racial disparities in employment outcomes have persisted throughout U.S. history. Analyzing these disparate outcomes can inform policy that identify those who are excluded from the mainstream economy and suggests pathways for inclusion.

Agenda

Session 1 Monday, February 1	Watch the session 1 video
2–3:30 p.m. (ET)	State of Labor Market Outcomes Day's Framing: William M. Rodgers III, Rutgers University and Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Research Panel Presenters "The Economic Gains from Equity"   Laura Choi, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco [Presentation ] "Assessing the Impact of Systemic Inequality on Racial Income Inequality in Metropolitan Labor Markets"  Niki D. vonLockette, Penn State University [Presentation ] "The COVID-19 Pandemic's Evolving Impacts on the Labor Market: Who's Been Hurt and What We Should Do"  Brad J. Hershbein, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research [Presentation ] Discussant and Q&A: Rebecca Dixon, National Employment Law Project Remarks from Federal Reserve Presidents Raphael W. Bostic, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Eric Rosengren, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Session 2 Tuesday, February 2	Watch the session 2 video
2–3:30 p.m. (ET)	The Future of Work/Alternative Work Arrangements Remarks from Federal Reserve President Loretta J. Mester, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Day's Framing: David Weil, Brandeis University Research Panel Presenters: "The Freelance Penalty: Income Variation and Job Structure of High-Skill Freelance Workers in the United States"  Diana Enriquez, Doctoral Candidate, Princeton University [Presentation ] "Working Remotely and the Supply-Side Impact of COVID-19" Lawrence D.W. Schmidt, MIT Sloan School of Management [Presentation ] "Gender Differences in Telecommuting and Implications for Inequality at Home and Work"  Thomas Lyttelton, Doctoral Candidate, Yale University [Presentation ] Discussant and Q&A: Palak Shah, National Domestic Workers Alliance
Session 3 Wednesday, February 3	Watch the session 3 video
2–3:30 p.m. (ET)	Education and Credentials Remarks from Federal Reserve President Patrick T. Harker, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Day's Framing: Julie Ajinkya, APIA Scholars Research Panel Presenters: "Moving Out to Move Up: Higher Education as a Mobility Pathway in the Rural South"  Ryan James Parsons, Doctoral Candidate, Princeton University [Presentation ] "Decomposing Outcome Differences between HBCU and Non-HBCU Institutions" Julie L. Hotchkiss, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta [Presentation ] "Variable Impacts of New Credentials for the Older Worker"  Isabel Cardenas-Navia, WorkCred [Presentation ] Discussant and Q&A: Chauncy Lennon, Lumina Foundation
Session 4 Thursday, February 4	Watch the session 4 video
2–3:30 p.m. (ET)	Career Pathways Remarks from Federal Reserve President Mary C. Daly, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Day's Framing: Elisabeth Jacobs, Urban Institute Research Panel Presenters: "Navigating with the STARs: Reimagining Equitable Pathways to Mobility"  Papia Debroy, Opportunity@Work [Presentation ] Jessica Santos, Brandeis University [Presentation ] Discussant and Q&A: Amanda Cage, National Fund for Workforce Solutions

Organizing Committee
Stuart Andreason, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Sara Chaganti, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Kyle Fee, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Heidi Kaplan, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Sarah Miller, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Keith Wardrip, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia