More Than A Magazine, A Movement
The Labor Department reported an alarming 865,000 women left the workforce in the month of September.
The Female Future of Work report shows how old the barriers faced by working women are and how seldom U.S. policymakers cared. The new report brings a recognition to working women’s history.
The work and family prong of Biden’s agenda for women includes high-quality, affordable child care for all families; free universal kindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds; support for increased access to after-school, weekend and summer programs; programs to care for older Americans and people with disabilities; paid family and medical leave; and flexible, fair work schedules.
(This piece is the third of a multi-part series covering President-Elect Biden’s platform for women. New installations of the series will be released on Wednesdays.)
The selection of Janet Yellen as the first woman to serve at the helm of Treasury and oversee the biggest economy in the world is noteworthy. But Yellen’s appointment is in keeping with research that shows women are especially likely to be selected for leadership in the middle of crises. Is she being set up to fail?
The Biden-Harris administration appears poised to make a good hard policy push towards gender equality in the workplace. But experts warm their efforts could be derailed—whether because of the multiple crises the new administration will be facing on Day 1 or legislative gridlock.
A significant number of women are being considered for key economic slots in the Biden administration, including as secretaries of Treasury, Commerce and Labor.
With a threatened mass exodus of women from the work force, the pandemic is prompting a national conversation about the plight of working women and the issues that impede their success at work.
If greater attention is paid to these issues, this pandemic-fueled recession could enable the future inclusion of women in the workplace for three reasons.
The third Thursday of each November is set aside as National Rural Health Day, an acknowledgement of the contribution rural communities and workers among these communities make to society and their pressing health needs.
We honor the millions of workers that keep America running the best way we can—continuing the drum beat for paid leave for all. No one should have to choose between their jobs and being there for those they love.
The economic security prong of Biden’s agenda for women includes fighting for equal pay and better wages for women, ending pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment, supporting women-owned small businesses, expanding women’s access to education and training, and providing pathways for women to enter higher-paying professions.
(President-Elect Biden’s platform for women promises to be the most ambitious presidential agenda yet addressing issues that affect women and girls in the U.S. and around the globe. This piece is the second of a multi-part series covering the agenda.)
The 2020 she-cession laid bare for everyone just how broken the childcare system is. Fixing the broken child care system is about getting our country back on track. But more specifically, it’s about providing women the critical support we need to participate in the labor force, as well as care for our own social-emotional health.
Pat Nixon was the first first lady to wear pants in public. Hillary Clinton was the first first lady to be elected to a public office. And now, Jill Biden is projected to become the first first lady to keep her full-time job outside of the White House.
“Dr. Biden … will be leading a life that is much more like that of everyday American women: balancing their role in a family with a professional life,” Jellison said.
