Elyse Shaw

Elyse Shaw serves as the Director of Education, Labor & Worker Justice at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). Elyse brings extensive knowledge of gender and economic issues with a background in research, policy analysis, and program management.

Prior to joining CLASP, Elyse served as the Director of Policy and Programs for the Department of Labor's Women’s Bureau. She joined the Bureau in January of 2022 and served as a Policy Analyst prior to stepping into the Director role. At the Women's Bureau, Elyse worked to advance the status of working women and their families by focusing on the development of improved wage and working conditions in key sectors dominated by women and women of color, disrupting occupational segregation and leading more women to pathways to good jobs, expanding access to paid leave and child and elder care, eliminating sexual harassment, violence, and discrimination, and addressing pay inequity and promoting pay equity through policy and practice changes.

Elyse also spent almost a decade at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, where she served as Director of the Status of Women in the United States project, which provides data and research about women’s lives on a wide range of topics – including economic security, education, reproductive rights, political participation, and heath – that change agents at the local, state, and national level used to improve the status of women.

Elyse has presented research at conferences and events across the U.S. and on numerous webinars, panels, and to visiting international thought leaders, providing commentary on a broad range of research topics. She has also been quoted in several local and national outlets including The Washington Post, Bustle, and Public Radio International and have co-authored several publications, including "Tools for Building an Equitable Infrastructure Workforce: Gender Equity as a Model", "Assets for Equity: Building Wealth for Women in Central Ohio;" "Sexual Harassment and Assault at Work: Understanding the Costs;" "Undervalued and Underpaid in America: Women in Low-Wage, Female-Dominated Jobs;" and "Closing the Gender Gap in Patenting, Innovation, and Commercialization: Programs Promoting Equity and Inclusion."

Elyse received a Masters of International Relations from American University’s School of International Service and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College.

Sub-specialties:
Civic & Political Engagement, International Women's Status and Rights, Racial & Ethnic Inequality, The Status of Women and Girls, Violence & Safety, Pay Equity & Discrimination, Workforce Development & Job Training.