Working in America, and event series hosted by the Economic Opportunities Program, highlights an array of critical employment and job quality issues affecting low- and moderate-income American workers.

From 2012 to 2019, this series featured a diverse set of voices and perspectives, including those of high-profile worker advocates, philanthropists, labor leaders, academics, business leaders, and policymakers. Through these conversations, we sought to advance innovative ideas, in policy and practice, to improve economic opportunity and the future of work in America. These discussions helped to build momentum in the national discourse around various critical employment issues facing low- and moderate-income workers.

To learn about more upcoming events from the Economic Opportunities Program, join our mailing list and follow us on social media.

Event Archive

Past Events in the Working in America Series

What’s in Store: The Future of Work in Retail
Event

What’s in Store: The Future of Work in Retail

As the retail industry evolves, what are the opportunities to create new jobs with potentially more productive, meaningful, and rewarding work?

Race, Work, and Opportunity in America
Event

Race, Work, and Opportunity in America

How do we understand the experience of Black workers in the US, and what does it tell us about working in America today?

The Caring Economy: How to Improve Service and Work in the Long-Term Care Industry
Event

The Caring Economy: How to Improve Service and Work in the Long-Term Care Industry

How can we improve the quality of work and healthcare services in an industry of growing national importance?

Dream Hoarders: A Book Talk with Richard Reeves
Event

Dream Hoarders: A Book Talk with Richard Reeves

In his new book, Richard Reeves contends that members of America’s upper middle class are becoming more effective at “opportunity hoarding.”

What Does Tax Reform Mean for Low- and Moderate-Income Workers?
Event

What Does Tax Reform Mean for Low- and Moderate-Income Workers?

Tax policy can dramatically shape the availability of economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income workers.

Building Good Jobs into America’s Infrastructure Investments
Event

Building Good Jobs into America’s Infrastructure Investments

Investments to renew our nation’s infrastructure offer many possible benefits to our economy and our society, including the creation of good jobs for workers.

Launch of the Good Companies/Good Jobs Initiative
Event

Launch of the Good Companies/Good Jobs Initiative

The Good Companies/Good Jobs initiative looks to sectors that have the potential to house good companies and good jobs and explore tools to better align capital deployment to firms with good jobs outcomes.

Has the First Job Disappeared? Connecting Young Workers to Employers and Career-Building Work Experiences
Event

Has the First Job Disappeared? Connecting Young Workers to Employers and Career-Building Work Experiences

Why are young adults increasingly disconnected from the workforce, and how can we work to reverse this trend?

Building Ladders and Raising the Floor: Improving Employment and Economic Opportunities for Frontline Workers
Event

Building Ladders and Raising the Floor: Improving Employment and Economic Opportunities for Frontline Workers

As labor markets evolve, how can we continue to “build ladders” and “raise the floor” for workers across the economy?

Democracy at Work: Citizen Action and the Fight for $15
Event

Democracy at Work: Citizen Action and the Fight for $15

David Rolf discusses his book “The Fight for $15”, joined by local labor leaders who share their experiences in today’s workplace.

About the Economic Opportunities Program

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

Join Our Mailing List

To receive occasional emails about our work — including new publications, commentary, events, fellowships, and more — join our mailing list.

Connect on Social Media

For news and updates every day, connect with us on the social media platform of your choice.

More from the Economic Opportunities Program

Room for Growth: A Survey of Upskilling Approaches — 2026 Analysis
Publications

Room for Growth: A Survey of Upskilling Approaches — 2026 Analysis

This publication examines how fragmented skills, credentialing, and workforce data systems limit the potential of skills-based hiring and advancement, and outlines a shared vision for building the interoperable infrastructure needed to create a connected skills ecosystem that benefits workers, employers, educators, and governments.

Building Economic Security: A Book Talk with Arindrajit Dube and Carrie Joy Grimes
Podcasts Videos

Building Economic Security: A Book Talk with Arindrajit Dube and Carrie Joy Grimes

Economic security shouldn’t be a lottery. Yet for millions of working families, stagnant wages and precarious jobs collide with the daily grind of managing money on shaky ground — leaving stability feeling less like a plan and more like a gamble. Fixing that takes more than one lever. It takes structural reform and the tools people need to take control of their financial lives, working together.

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers
Publications

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers

Firms differ in how equity or profit is allocated, how long the ownership structure is intended to last, and how workers participate in governance and the workplace, all of which affect how workers experience ownership.

Employer-Friendly Practices: A Guide for Higher Education
Publications

Employer-Friendly Practices: A Guide for Higher Education

This resource is designed to help colleges and universities become more employer-friendly and build the kind of institutional capacity that sustains and grows partnerships while simultaneously better serving working learners. It offers role-specific guidance for leaders across the institution, a self-assessment spanning five domains of practice, and a process for turning results into action, grounded in the conviction that institution/employer partnerships can become easier without compromising academic missions.

MillerKnoll: Developing Operations Leaders from Within and Beyond — A Case Study in Structured Talent Development
Publications

MillerKnoll: Developing Operations Leaders from Within and Beyond — A Case Study in Structured Talent Development

Bridge, Propel, and Career Academy are built on a practical philosophy: that MillerKnoll has great talent already inside the organization. Finding that talent, developing it, and aligning it to the right opportunities is key to its success. T

A Typology of State-Supported Work-Connected Learning Programs
Publications

A Typology of State-Supported Work-Connected Learning Programs

States invest in work-connected learning through dozens of distinct funding streams, grant programs, and agency initiatives, often developed independently over time by different administrations and agencies pursuing different goals.

Resource Roundup: Data Centers and the Workforce
Blog Posts