Janet Norwood, Ph.D.

Former U.S. Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Counselor and Senior Fellow, The Conference Board in New York City

American Educational Research Association

2004 Annual Meeting

San Diego, CA

April 12-16, 2004

Speaker Biography:

Janet L. Norwood is Counselor and Senior Fellow at The Conference Board in New York City. She chairs an Academy Panel to evaluate the 2000 Census and is a member of an Academy Panel to measure discrimination. She also serves as a Director on corporate and non-profit Boards.

From 1992-1999, she was a Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute, where she worked on statistical policy and labor market issues. President Bush named Norwood Chair of the Advisory Council on Unemployment Compensation in 1992, and President Clinton reappointed her to that post in 1993. She served as U.S. Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 1979-91, having been appointed by Presidents Carter and Reagan and confirmed by the Senate. She has testified often before Congressional Committees, has written articles and monographs on statistical and labor market issues, and is the author of a 1995 book, Organizing to Count: Change in the Federal Statistical System.

Norwood earned a B.A. from Douglass College of Rutgers University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Tufts University. Rutgers, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, and Florida International Universities have awarded her honorary Doctor of Law degrees. She received Distinguished rank in the Federal Senior Executive Service in 1988, Meritorious rank in 1985, and is the recipient of the National Public Service award, the Elmer M. Statts award, Dickinson College’s Benjamin Rush Award, the American Statistical Association’s Founders award, and the Labor Department’s Philip Arnow award.

Presentation Summary:

The Factory Job Puzzle: Employment, Outsourcing, and Worker Quality

The realignment of industry, changes in the operation of the workplace, and shifts in occupational demand have rekindled the debate over the loss of factory jobs and concern about their flight to lower-wage foreign workers. The lecture considered these issues, taking into account the shifts in the nations racial and ethnic population measured in the 2000 Census and the challenge of providing equity to a more heavily minority work force. Then, focusing on the nation’s human capital, Dr. Norwood reviewed what we know about worker quality and employer needs. Efforts at evaluation of worker quality through productivity data and educational measurement were also reviewed. In each of these areas, attention was given to the data we use, its accuracy, and possibilities for improvement. Consideration was also given to what we can learn about the future of the world of work and to policy areas that require attention.