Shift Work Forward

Most employers want to build more equitable workplaces. The harder question is how.

Chicago has been working on an answer. Through a cohort model that brings together workforce practitioners and employer partners, organizations across the city have been shifting how they hire, retain, and advance workers. The focus areas include fair chance hiring, engaging young adults, training frontline managers, and connecting to talent that's been overlooked.

The results show what's possible when employers have peer support, coaching, and cross-sector partnerships behind them.

On June 9th, the practitioners and employers leading this work will walk through the model and share what they've learned. If you're working to build more equitable hiring and workplace practices in your region, this is worth your time.

Register now for "Collective Impact, Real Change: How Cross-Sector Partnerships Shift Employer Practices" on June 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM Eastern: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2517791200129/WN_MV_DAPmETVmmhCICFFGHmg

Affordability is a real crisis for working families. But it can't be separated from wages, job quality, and worker power.

Too many people are doing everything right and still falling behind. That's a workforce systems problem, not a personal one.

Good jobs, equitable career pathways, and stronger worker voice aren't side issues. They're central to solving the affordability crisis facing families across the country.

Rising inequality is the root of affordability problems When most people—including policymakers—complain about a lack of affordability, they think of prices being too high. But affordability is the outcome of a race between prices and incomes. After all, goods and services were a lot cheaper 90 years ago during the Great Depression, but we all know t...

Women are holding up enormous parts of the economy right now. Especially mothers.

That reality should push all of us to take childcare, job quality, and workplace flexibility a lot more seriously. These are not personal issues. They are workforce issues. They determine who can stay employed, who advances, and who gets pushed out entirely.

When we ignore the conditions that support working mothers, we don't just fail families. We weaken the workforce.

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Women Workers Are a Lifeline for the Economy As Mother’s Day approaches, April jobs data highlight that women have been a bright spot in a volatile labor market, and underneath that trend are working mothers’ labor force participation rates.