Harvard Is Vaulting Workers Into the Middle Class With High Pay. Can Anyone Else Follow Its Lead?


Spurred by student activism and a research study on outsourcing, Harvard University implemented a parity policy in 2002. This means all university workers, regardless of whether the university or an outside contractor pays them, receive full benefits and higher pay. For an institution like Harvard that can afford to pay workers substantially more, there is greater employee satisfaction. However, researchers are still exploring if higher wages for some mean lower wages for others or fewer employees hired in the future.

Related Stories