Understanding Structural Barriers in Employment Processes: Implications for Evaluations of Employment and Training Programs

Abstract Information: Researchers and policymakers are increasingly recognizing that structural barriers inherent in low-wage work, such as a lack of stable and predictable hours, lack of paid or unpaid leave, and locations inaccessible to public transit, may hinder the long-term economic success of workers in low-wage occupations. Because people of color are overrepresented in low-wage jobs, these barriers have disproportionate impacts on workers of color. Further, the extent to which employers design jobs that align with workers’ needs and help them maintain employment may depend on employers’ perceptions of who is deserving or valuable — perceptions which themselves may be racially conditioned. But employment and training programs—and evaluations of those programs—often conceptualize barriers as associated with individuals (e.g., lack of skills or credentials) rather than structural.

This presentation will examine how an understanding of barriers as structural would fit into how we conceptualize and evaluate employment and training programs. It will describe a a framework to describe barriers inherent in job design and structure, such as lack of predictable hours, lack of paid or unpaid workplace leave, etc. Using this framework, the presentation will include findings from a scan of recent employment and training evaluations.

The presentation will highlight the implications from this work for evaluations of employment and training programs moving forward. Specifically the paper discusses the need for theories of change that accommodate complexity, a multidimensional understanding (and ways to measure) job quality, and ways to synthesize our understanding of what works beyond reviewing individual level impacts.