Records of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, 1986-2009

Records of the Institute for Women's Policy Research reflect the Institute's leadership in collecting, distributing, and publicizing data for directing public policy on issues affecting women, primarily in the US. Generally, the records represent the Institute's research methods and publications, and include correspondence; financial records; meeting minutes; publications; flyers, pamphlets, and announcements; conference planning material; conference papers and reviews; grant proposals, budgets, and reports; contracts; speeches; etc. Additional material received as electronic files will be reformatted at a future date for inclusion in this collection.

Series I, ADMINISTRATIVE, FINANCIAL, AND CORRESPONDENCE, 1986-2008 (#1.1-36.6, E.1), contains administrative correspondence; biographical sketches of staff; contact and donor lists; contracts and invoices; invitations; memos; reports and abstracts; testimonies; announcements, flyers, clippings, etc.; financial records; grant proposals; and other administrative records. Material arrived foldered and in binders. In some cases original order was maintained, in others records were rearranged to allow for greater access. Binders were disbound and foldered. Most folder titles were created by the processors. The series is divided into three subseries.

Subseries A, Administrative and financial, 1986-2008 (#1.1-3.10, E.1), includes the Institute's audited financial statements, financial reports, correspondence, grant proposals, grant reports (including summaries of annual accomplishments), and related, as well as a small amount of administrative material. Correspondence, grant proposals, and grant reports document the Institute's efforts at securing general operating funds from granting agencies, including the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Family Fund, and the Rachel and Ben Vaughan Foundation. Similar material related to funding for specific projects is found in Series II, Subseries B; that related to funding for conferences is found in Series II, Subseries A. Administrative material consists of a small amount of meeting minutes and memos, two annual reports, and material related to a staff retreat in 1992. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by record type with general support material (arranged alphabetically as found) followed by general financial material arranged chronologically. Arrangement and folder titles were created by the processors. The Institute for Women's Policy Research web site, which includes photographs and other writing, is being captured periodically as part of Harvard University Library's Web Archive Collection (WAX).

Subseries B, Alphabetical correspondence, 1987-1999 (#4.1-19.3), includes the alphabetical administrative correspondence (photocopies of outgoing administrative correspondence and some incoming original letters, filed by name of company or contact person; the Institute's alphabetical criteria is found in #4.4), which focuses on fund-raising initiatives; report updates on grant-funded projects; announcements of upcoming conferences, workshops, pending legislation, etc.; membership renewals; thank you letters to donors, co-sponsors, project and conference participants, etc.; internship appointments; job appointments; responses to inquiries by Congressional members, the general public, and other organizations; reference letters; form letters; personnel memos; etc. Related material is also included (i.e., reports, budgets, grant proposals, contracts and invoices, conference paper abstracts, testimonies, biographical sketches of staff, lists of contacts and donors, invitations and flyers, clippings, etc.). There is very little alphabetical correspondence for 1996; see Subseries C for more complete 1996 correspondence. Additional correspondence (which largely duplicates this subseries, but is arranged chronologically and also includes some incoming letters) is located in Series I, Subseries C, and throughout Series II. Folder contents were rearranged or combined, and original folder titles were maintained. The subseries is arranged alphabetically within year.

Subseries C, Chronological correspondence, 1986-2007 (#19.4-36.6), includes the chronological administrative correspondence (photocopies of outgoing administrative correspondence and some incoming original letters, filed by date), which focuses on fund-raising initiatives; report updates on grant-funded projects; announcements of upcoming conferences, workshops, pending legislation, etc.; membership renewals; thank you letters to donors, co-sponsors, project and conference participants, etc.; internship appointments; job appointments; responses to information requests from Congressional members, the general public, and other organizations; reference letters; form letters; personnel memos; etc. Related material is also included (i.e., reports, budgets, grant proposals, contracts and invoices, conference paper abstracts, testimonies, biographical sketches of staff, lists of contacts and donors, invitations and flyers, clippings, etc.). Additional correspondence (which largely duplicates this subseries, but is arranged alphabetically and also includes some incoming letters) is located in Series I, Subseries C, and throughout Series II. Folder contents were rearranged or combined, and original folder titles were maintained. The subseries is arranged chronologically.

Series II, CONFERENCES, PROJECTS AND PROPOSALS, AND RELATED, 1987-2008 (#36.7-116.2, OD.1, SD.1, T-458.1 - T-458.48, E.2-E.3), contains correspondence, meeting minutes, notes, grant proposals and reports, financial statements, conference and workshop materials, academic papers presented at conferences, publicity, speeches, audiotapes, etc. The series is divided into four subseries.

Subseries A, Conferences, 1987-2005 (#36.7-52.1, OD.1, T-458.1 - T.458.45), includes attendee lists and reviews; correspondence; grant proposals and reports; meeting minutes; planning materials; abstracts, papers, and proposals; budget and sponsorship materials; audiotapes, etc. The bulk of this series consists of materials for the planning of the Institute's policy research and leadership conferences, and other public programs over the years, including advisory and planning committee minutes; schedules; correspondence regarding sponsorship, location and other physical arrangements, and programming; publicity; grant proposals and reports; etc. Also included is material documenting topics presented at these conferences, including paper and panel proposals, paper reviews, and final papers. It appears that following each conference, papers were collected from presenters, edited, and published as conference proceedings. Only one published proceedings is found in this subseries, although planning materials for several are included. Conference topics include women's health; domestic violence and sexual abuse; women in government; women in business and the workplace; family and work policies; homeless women and children; wages and gender; costs of child care; race/ethnicity and gender; women and aging; women's and girls' education; women and children in poverty; pay equity; reproductive rights; women and welfare reform; women and immigration; etc. Conferences consisted of a number of subject-based panels that were referred to with abbreviations (e.g. FCP for Family, Culture, and Population). In instances where the meanings of these abbreviations were able to be determined, they were included in the folder titles. In many instances they are not. The Institute also hosted Friday Forums at George Washington University. Although it is unclear how often these occurred, they generally consisted of a single speaker presenting a paper on a women-focused issue with a question and answer period following. Recordings of several of these events are included. Additional material received as electronic files will be reformatted at some future date for inclusion in this subseries. Folder titles were created by the processor. The series is arranged chronologically by conference (as found), interspersed with Friday Forums, and thereunder alphabetically.

Subseries B, Projects and proposals, 1987-2005, (#52.2-80.7, E.2-E.3), contains correspondence; memos and notes; grant proposals and reports; budgets and other financial material; contracts; minutes; electronic records; etc., related to research and other projects conducted by the Institute. Topics include women's health; domestic violence and sexual abuse; women in government; women in business and the workplace; family and work policies; homeless women and children; wages and gender; costs of child care; race/ethnicity and gender; women and aging; women's and girls' education; women and children in poverty; pay equity; reproductive rights; and women and immigration, with research on the impact of welfare and welfare reform (1996) on women and families being most prominent. The results of a number of research projects were published and can be found in Series III. As part of its research efforts the Institute established a welfare reform working group as well as creating a Welfare Reform Listserv, now referred to as the Welfare Monitoring Listserv (an electronic version of which is included), which sought to link and provide information to individuals and agencies most concerned with the effects of welfare reform on women and families.

Most projects were conceived by the Institute and funded by outside sources including the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Family Fund, AFL-CIO, Ms. Foundation for Women, and NOW LDEF, although the Institute was also contracted by outside agencies to perform research on specific topics (e.g., District of Columbia Child Care Needs Assessment Survey, #55.2-55.8). Most research projects were short-term, lasting from several months to several years. Others are ongoing. Other projects include the Young Women's Project, which began as a proposal for a conference in 1989 entitled, "I'm Not a Feminist, But...," the aim of which was to address the issues of women's work and family roles from the perspective of women in their 20s, but appears to have become a separately funded activist organization by 1992. The Fund for Action Research (first proposed in 1989) sought to establish a fund "to provide grants to outside researchers to study policy issues of particular importance to the women's advocacy community." It is unclear whether this project continues to operate in 2012.

The Research News Reporter collected and compiled publicity about studies regarding topics of interest to the Institute and similar organizations. These clippings were gathered annually and arranged in binders by topic (e.g., family life, health and reproductive issues, poverty and income, etc.); binders were disassembled and the contents foldered. An electronic version of the Policy Listserv and Strategy Exchange (PuLSE), created in order to "build coalitions among researchers, advocates and legislators within and among states [in order] to strengthen policy strategies and research that seek to improve women's status," is also included, as well as research proposals that were never funded. Additional material received as electronic files will be reformatted at some future date for inclusion in this subseries. Material was originally arranged in a strict chronological sequence with material related to a number of different projects foldered together, but rearranged by project for greater access. Folder titles were created by the processor. The series is arranged alphabetically by project title.

Subseries C, Status of Women in the States, 1995-2008, (#80.8-94.7, SD.1), consists of correspondence; memos and notes; grant material; committee memos, notes, and minutes; budgets; publications; etc., related to the Status of Women in the States project. In 1995, the Institute began a research project that sought to grade and compare the fifty states and the District of Columbia in terms of women's political participation, employment and earnings, social and economic autonomy, reproductive rights, and health and well-being. Statistics were gathered from the states in a number of stages; publications regarding each state, as well as a national publication comparing states by these categories, were released in 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2004. Although the Institute was unable to establish advisory committees in all states, records of a number of individual state advisory committees (established to gather information and approve the final report for their respective state) are included, as well as those of the national advisory committee (#80.8-83.1). Proposals, interim and final reports, and correspondence with both state and national funding agencies are also included, as well as published state and national reports, fact sheets, news briefs, and publicity. Additional publications of the Institute can be found in Series III. Folder titles were created by the processor. The series is arranged alphabetically.

Subseries D, Speaking engagements, 1987-2002 (#94.8-116.2, T-458.46 - T-458.48) includes speeches, professional papers and related drafts, notes, correspondence, conference and workshop materials, program guides, pamphlets, clippings, photographs, audiotapes, etc., related to Heidi Hartmann's and Roberta Spalter-Roth's speaking engagements at non-Institute- sponsored conferences, workshops, lecture series, press briefings, etc. Also included are testimonies, statements, and related drafts presented by Institute staff at Congressional hearings. Topics focus on welfare reform, pay equity, child care, and other political and social-economical issues concerning women in the United States and abroad. Additional material received as electronic files will be reformatted at some future date for inclusion in this subseries. Folder contents were rearranged or combined, and original folder titles were maintained. The subseries is arranged chronologically by year, and thereunder alphabetically by the sponsoring institute or organization.

Series III, PUBLICATIONS, 1986-2009 (#116.3-121.14, Vt-176.1), contains Briefing Paper, Discussion Paper, Fact Sheets, and Research-in-Brief papers; and Discussion Paper, brochures, publication lists, news releases, and other research publications addressing political and social-economic issues concerning American women. Related publications can be found in Series II, Subseries B and Series II, Subseries C. The series is divided into two subseries.

Subseries A, Fact sheets, news releases, and related, 1986-2008 (#116.3-117.6), includes Briefing Paper, Fact Sheets, and Research-in-Brief papers, all of which are essentially "fact sheets"; Discussion Paper publications (professional papers presented at conferences and preliminary drafts used in later research publications); brochures; news releases; publication lists; etc. Publications related to the Status of Women in the States project can be found in Series II, Subseries C. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by topic, and thereunder chronologically by year.

Subseries B, Research publications, 1987-2009 (#117.7-121.14, Vt-176.1), includes published conference papers, research reports, and related projects (bibliographies, directories, resource guides, etc.); many of the publications have corresponding publication numbers (i.e., #A114, #D406, #I528, etc.). Also, included are the educational guide and videotape of A Women's Place (#119.1 and Vt-176.1), published by Maryland Public Television (apparently with no IWPR connection). Publications related to the Status of Women in the States project can be found in Series II, Subseries C. The subseries is arranged chronologically by year, and thereunder alphabetically by topic (i.e., executive summary, report, working paper, etc.).

Photographs in this collection, referred to as "uncataloged" photographs, are not of sufficient research interest to warrant cataloging and are simply treated as part of the documents they accompany; they are marked on the back with an asterisk in square brackets [*].