COVID-19 and Unemployment Insurance: An Interview with Rebecca Dixon

On Friday, April 3, NELP Executive Director Rebecca Dixon spoke with Aspen Institute Vice President and Economic Opportunities Program Executive Director Maureen Conway in a live Zoom interview and Q & A focused on unemployment insurance (UI) in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rebecca, a UI expert who spent years advocating for unemployed workers both at NELP and prior to NELP, discussed how unemployment insurance works, who it helps, and how policymakers can improve the system to better address the needs of workers during this time of mass layoffs and beyond. She also discussed the particular challenges facing workers of color in accessing UI, and helped Q & A participants with specific questions about the UI application process, and more.

Rebecca is an Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls SOAR Fellow and is on the advisory council for the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program.

Thanks to the Aspen Institute for organizing this urgent conversation during this unprecedented and challenging time. The videos below were originally published and posted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program.

Part One:

Part Two: