Why We Invested
Nearly one third of all students who have some college credit, but no degree are parenting. IWPR has conducted research to further understand the population and outline practical ways in which practitioners and policymakers can support parents on their journey to return to higher education. IWPR’s report Busy With Purpose: Lessons for Education and Policy Leaders from Returning Student Parents, released in March 2020. The COVID-19 global pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to the lives of US families, the economy, and the global community more broadly. With jobs increasingly at risk and children unable to attend child care or school, student parents face even greater obstacles to postsecondary success than before. We are also supporting IWPR’s research efforts to understand student parents’ needs during the pandemic, state responses to the pandemic, and the implications of these responses for student parents and their families.
We are on the frontlines—asking the right questions and putting forth bold ideas that inform opinions, shape policy and elevate the status, power, and possibility of women everywhere. Now is the time to imagine systems that not only meet the needs of women and families, but set them on a path to full economic security and prosperity.