Paid sick leave has added benefit of reducing gender inequality

Faculty member Daniel Schneider has co-authored a research article in Health Affairs that draws from the findings of the Shift Project regarding paid sick leave for low-wage workers and gender inequality. Schneider and his co-author Kristen Harknett report that there was limited access to paid leave, especially among women. In states and localities that paid for sick leave, however, the benefit was more widely accessed and the gender disparity was eliminated. Learn more about the policy implications of these findings in this piece in The Harvard Gazette. Also, tune in to this Harvard Kennedy School PolicyCast with Schneider in which he shares insights on how the pandemic has exposed the plight of hourly service workers.