Money & Jobs

When the U.S. Turns Its Back on Aid, Women Pay the Price

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The justification is always the same: fiscal responsibility, foreign policy recalibrations, shifting political winds. But on the ground, the reality is much more cutting. When aid disappears, people die. Not theoretically. Not eventually. Immediately.

Aid is not a line item to be slashed when convenient. It is a commitment: to humanity, to protecting women, to the belief that no life is worth less simply because it exists beyond our borders. It is the difference between Judith finding safety and Nyamal being forced to return to her abuser. It is, quite literally, life or death.

The Feminist Path of Margaret Prescod: Black Women’s Fight Against Unpaid Labor

Margaret Prescod, co-founder of Black Women for Wages for Housework, knew that raising children is hard work and that women on welfare are among society’s hardest workers. In a newsletter printed up by Prescod and Wilmette Brown and handed out at the 1977 National Women’s Conference in Houston, they wrote, “We don’t need more work. We need more money to work less.”

And after several days of lobbying, bolstered by support from delegates from several Southern states, the National Plan of Action ratified by the conference included a plank labeled Women, Welfare, and Poverty, which stated: “We support increased federal funding for income transfer programs. And just as with other workers, homemakers receiving payments should be afforded the dignity of having that payment called a wage, not welfare.”

The demand encapsulated in the Women, Welfare, and Poverty plank of the Plan of Action—the result of lobbying and organizing by Black, working-class and poor women—was perhaps the most visionary proposal to come out of the conference.

From Pregnancy Discrimination to Advocacy: My Journey to Capitol Hill

Denied accommodations during my pregnancy, I fought back. Now, thanks to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, fewer women will have to face the same struggle.

(This essay is a part of Ms. and A Better Balance’s Women & Democracy installment, all about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act—a groundbreaking civil rights law ensuring pregnant and postpartum workers have the right to reasonable workplace accommodations. Bipartisan, pro-family and boldly feminist, the PWFA is both a lesson in democracy and a battleground for its defense against antidemocratic attacks.)

A Challenge to the Health of Pregnant Workers—and the Health of Our Constitutional Democracy

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act enjoyed broad bipartisan support, easily passed the House, and was favorably reported out of committee in the Senate.

It did not take long, however, for attacks to ensue. The state of Texas, represented by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of PWFA because the House of Representatives had allowed members to vote for the omnibus bill by proxy.

A federal trial judge in Texas, however, held that PWFA was unconstitutional because he believed only “in person” votes could count for determining a quorum. The case is now pending before the federal appeals court for the 5th Circuit.

(This essay is a part of Ms. and A Better Balance’s Women & Democracy installment, all about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act—a groundbreaking civil rights law ensuring pregnant and postpartum workers have the right to reasonable workplace accommodations. Bipartisan, pro-family and boldly feminist, the PWFA is both a lesson in democracy and a battleground for its defense against antidemocratic attacks.)

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Is Key to Improving Black Maternal Health and Families’ Economic Security

The enactment of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) marked a pivotal advance in safeguarding the health and economic security of Black mothers and their families. Black women are disproportionately represented in low-wage, physically demanding jobs where workplace accommodations are often necessary but frequently unavailable.

The PWFA is crucial in combating the maternal morbidity and mortality crisis in the U.S., where pregnancy-related mortality rates among Black women are over three times higher than those for white women.

(This essay is a part of Ms. and A Better Balance’s Women & Democracy installment, all about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act—a groundbreaking civil rights law ensuring pregnant and postpartum workers have the right to reasonable workplace accommodations. Bipartisan, pro-family and boldly feminist, the PWFA is both a lesson in democracy and a battleground for its defense against antidemocratic attacks.)

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Saved My Livelihood. Women Nationwide Need to Know About This Important Law.

When I was pregnant and working as a custodian in South Carolina, my employer sent me home after I asked for some simple changes to protect my health. Since my requests were so simple, I wasn’t expecting my employer to tell me to stop working. I was blindsided, made to feel like I was the one who did something wrong.

Looking for answers, I came across A Better Balance’s free legal helpline. They told me about a new law called the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which required that workers in my situation receive accommodations—including changes to their usual work duties—to stay healthy and on the job. I returned to work with the adjustments I needed, and worked right up until I had my baby. On top of this, my employer put up posters—one by every time clock—about the PWFA, so that other workers who might need pregnancy accommodations would know about it.

(This essay is a part of Ms. and A Better Balance’s Women & Democracy installment, all about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act—a groundbreaking civil rights law ensuring pregnant and postpartum workers have the right to reasonable workplace accommodations. Bipartisan, pro-family and boldly feminist, the PWFA is both a lesson in democracy and a battleground for its defense against antidemocratic attacks.)

Four Things You Should Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

At a time when civil and reproductive rights are under constant attack, there remains at least one bright light: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), a relatively new law that grants landmark protections to pregnant and postpartum individuals in the workplace. The PWFA offers protections of which everyone should be aware, especially those who are or ever plan to become pregnant.  

Here are four need-to-know elements of the law.

(This essay is a part of Ms. and A Better Balance’s Women & Democracy installment, all about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act—a groundbreaking civil rights law ensuring pregnant and postpartum workers have the right to reasonable workplace accommodations. Bipartisan, pro-family and boldly feminist, the PWFA is both a lesson in democracy and a battleground for its defense against antidemocratic attacks.)

Could Low-Wage White Workers Spark Trump’s Undoing?

With time, the resistance movement against Trump’s dangerous agenda will grow to include low-wage white workers, a third of whom live in the South and were perhaps initially pro-Trump, according to a prediction from Bishop William Barber II.

“The only way a king becomes a king is if you bow. And we cannot bow,” Barber said. “Bowing is not in our DNA. We have to stand in this moment.”

Black Faith Leaders Organize 40-Day ‘Fast’ from Target During Lent, Protesting DEI Cuts

In late January, Target announced an end to its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program in response to external political pressures and as a preemptive measure to avoid potential legal or financial repercussions under the Trump administration’s executive orders cutting DEI from the federal government.

Now, in the season of Lent, Black faith leaders are calling for a 40-day “fast” from Target, urging people to boycott the retail giant to protest its caving to the federal government’s anti-diversity rhetoric. So far, more than 100,000 shoppers—many involved with Black churches—have joined the pledge to abstain from shopping at Target for 40 days. Target stock is already down 57 percent.

Trump’s Speech to Congress Shows the Working Class Is on Their Own 

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President Trump’s first seven weeks back in office have been spent abandoning the American people—tearing apart vital programs, withholding funds that save lives and purging the federal workforce. Last Tuesday, he addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time in his second term. Throughout the speech, he boasted about abandoning international agreements, expediting environmental deregulation and gutting federal resources.