Irregular Work Schedules Have the Biggest Impact on Women

Many of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. are supported by millions of workers who are paid hourly wages. It is a volatile foundation. Increasingly, these hourly employees are often notified of their shifts, or of cancelled shifts, within mere hours before they are set to begin—in turn causing unpredictable income. A 2014 Federal Reserve survey showed that about 30 percent of Americans struggle with income instability. A majority pointed to fluctuating work hours as the cause.

And as a new report from the Center for Popular Democracy finds, women are burdened most by the volatility of hourly work. They are more likely to work jobs that pay on an hourly basis, according to the report, at 61 percent compared to 56 percent of men. In particular, women of color dominate the hourly workforce: They are twice as likely to work in an hourly job as in a salaried one, while white women are 1.4 times more likely.