Good Jobs

The Necessity of Employee-Centered Strategies: A Book Talk with Steve Dawson and Jerry Rubin

This is the final event in our Job Quality in Practice series. In this conversation, hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on May 7, 2026, we hear from the Institute’s Job Quality Fellows who are embedding job quality into their work across a range of contexts and strategies — from employee ownership models that give workers a direct financial stake in their company’s success, to apprenticeship programs that create structured pathways to higher-wage careers, to worker advisory committees that bring employee voice into business decision-making.

July 30, 2026

When Work Isn’t Enough: Improving Job Quality for ALICE Households

This is the final event in our Job Quality in Practice series. In this conversation, hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on May 7, 2026, we hear from the Institute’s Job Quality Fellows who are embedding job quality into their work across a range of contexts and strategies — from employee ownership models that give workers a direct financial stake in their company’s success, to apprenticeship programs that create structured pathways to higher-wage careers, to worker advisory committees that bring employee voice into business decision-making.

May 19, 2026

Investing in Job Quality in the South

This is the final event in our Job Quality in Practice series. In this conversation, hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on May 7, 2026, we hear from the Institute’s Job Quality Fellows who are embedding job quality into their work across a range of contexts and strategies — from employee ownership models that give workers a direct financial stake in their company’s success, to apprenticeship programs that create structured pathways to higher-wage careers, to worker advisory committees that bring employee voice into business decision-making.

May 7, 2026

Coming of Age at Work: Good Jobs for Teens

This event — hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Forum for Community Solutions on April 21, 2026 — explores how to create meaningful work opportunities for teens while protecting them from dangerous and exploitative conditions

April 24, 2026

Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South

In this conversation, hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on April 1, 2026, we hear how the Institute’s Job Quality Fellows are embedding job quality into their work across a range of contexts and strategies — from employee ownership models that give workers a direct financial stake in their company’s success, to apprenticeship programs that create structured pathways to higher-wage careers, to worker advisory committees that bring employee voice into business decision-making.

April 1, 2026

Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy

This event — hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on Thursday, March 5 — is the second in its four-part event series on Fixing Work in the South. Drawing on the work of EOP’s Job Quality Fellows, this conversation — Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy — explores what kind of progress is possible when we lean on the expertise of workers and communities to inform strategy and empower them to shape a labor market that works for everyone.

March 5, 2026

Building New Narratives on Work and Opportunity in the US South

This event — hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on February 19, 2026 — is the first of four conversations with members of the Aspen Institute’s Job Quality Fellowship who are working in the South.

February 21, 2026

Beyond 9 to 5: Facilitating Good Jobs for People with Unpredictable Schedules

What many believe is a thing of the past is in fact an ever-growing crisis, with life and death consequences for children across the US.

January 29, 2026

Will the Return of Manufacturing Mean the Return of Good Jobs?  

When commentators and policymakers talk about economic opportunity, they often point to the manufacturing sector as an area of promise — one where workers without four-year degrees can enjoy stable, middle-class jobs with good benefits and a secure retirement. At

October 3, 2025

Good Jobs, Stronger Communities: The Case for Creating a Job Quality Practice

For too long, poor job quality has been accepted as inevitable. It is not. It is possible to improve work.

April 14, 2025