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Ellen Kaye Scott

Professor of Sociology, University of Oregon
Chapter Member: Oregon SSN
Areas of Expertise:

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About Ellen

Scott's research focuses on low-wage work and carework, with attention to public policy related to low-income workers and families. Scott has done work on women leaving welfare for work, low-wage work in Oregon, the tensions between wage work and carework in families of children with disabilities, and unpredictable scheduling practices in retail, hospitality, and fast food industries. Scott is a qualitative researcher who collaborates with survey researchers to produce mixed methods products. Her research has been influential in policy debates in Oregon regarding the child care subsidy program, raising minimum wage, and fair scheduling legislation.

Contributions

Assessing the Initial Impacts of the First Statewide Scheduling Law

  • Larissa Petrucci
  • Lola Loustaunau
  • Lina Mary Caroline Stepick

The Impact on Oregonians of the Rise of Irregular Scheduling

    Ellen Kaye Scott

Publications

"The Growing Need for “Non-Traditional Hours” Met by Underpaid In-Home Providers" (with Larissa Petrucci, Lola Loustaunau, Mary King, and Ellen Kaye Scott). Labor Education and Research Center (2022).

Describes the long, irregular, badly paid and too often unpaid hours home-based childcare providers work to care for the children of Oregon’s working class families.

"Impossible Choices: How Workers Manage Unpredictable Scheduling Practices" (with Camila H. Alvarez, Lola Loustaunau, and Larissa Petrucci). Labor Studies Journal (2019).

Expands research on how workers navigate through "bad jobs" by exploring the ways in which they respond in an attempt to manage the individual impacts of precarious work arrangements.  Finds that workers respond to unpredictable scheduling in four ways: they acquiesce, self-advocate, quit, or directly oppose employers. Highlights the "impossible choices" workers face as they negotiate prevalent, unpredictable work conditions, juggle work-life obligations, and struggle to remain employed. 

"Predictors of Low-Income Parent Child Care Selections" (with Roberta B. Weber and Deana Grobe). Children and Youth Services Review 88 (2018): 528-540.

Finds that both employment constraints and subsidy receipt are strong predictors of child care selection decisions.

"Mother-Ready Jobs: Employment that Works for Mothers of Children with Disabilities" Journal of Family Issues 39, no. 9 (2018): 2659-2684.

Examines those unusual circumstances in which work does work in the challenging case of mothers of children with disabilities. Finds that with flexibility, paid leave, job security, and health insurance, that is, with jobs that policy analysts refer to as "good jobs," and Randy Albelda calls "mother-ready" jobs, caregivers can manage work and family. Argues that through a combination of mandatory workplace restructuring and social supports, the state could facilitate the reorganization of jobs so that they are mother-ready and therefore make possible the performance of daily required tasks as caregivers and employees. 

"Using Policy-Relevant Administrative Data in Mixed Methods: A Study of Employment Instability and Parents' Use of Child Care Subsidies" (with Deana Grobe, Elizabeth E. Davis, and Roberta B. Weber). Journal of Family and Economic Issues 38, no. 1 (2017): 146-162.

Examines employment instability and job characteristics of parents using child care subsidies. Suggests that parents experience substantial employment instability (employment loss and unpredictable schedules) and that exiting the subsidy program is frequently related to employment-related eligibility factors. 

"The High Cost of Low Wages," Oregon Nurses Association & Local 503 SEIU, January 1, 2014.

Shows how much taxpayers spend supporting the low wage workforce in the state of Oregon. Looks at the cost of public assistance to workers and their families and provides guidance to decision makers as they determine the right way to fill gaps in services.