Family

Issues of the family, including childcare, welfare and family responsibilities, often directly impact women as mothers and primary caretakers.

‘It’s Not Charity, It’s Community’: Why SNAP Benefits Are Helpful for Everyone

PUBLISHED 11/5/2025 by

As federal SNAP funding stalls amid the shutdown, families, advocates and food banks are stepping up to keep people fed—but they can’t fill all the gaps.

“When we support programs like SNAP—we’re not just feeding families, we’re strengthening the entire community—every child who goes to bed with a full stomach, every parent who can focus on work instead of hunger, every landlord who can count on rent being paid—all of that adds up to a healthier, more resilient community,” said Semone Thomas, a Wisconsin SNAP advocate. “Because in the end, food security is not charity, it’s community.”

Immigrant and First-Generation Women Are Changing What Leadership Looks Like in America

PUBLISHED 10/29/2025 by | UPDATED 10/31/2025 at 2:18 P.M. PT

Running for office in the United States has never been an even playing field. Women face steep hurdles including misogyny, difficulties raising money and building political networks, and shouldering the demands of family and work. On top of that, immigrant women often face increased barriers, contending with racism, xenophobia and constant doubts about whether they “fit the image” of a politician.

Men are usually assumed to be qualified. Women have to prove it—over and over again.

At New American Leaders, we prepare women to anticipate these double standards and to campaign with confidence and authenticity. NAL is women-led and stands as the only nonprofit, nonpartisan organization in the United States that trains and supports immigrants, children of immigrants and refugees for civic leadership or running for office.

(This essay is part of a collection presented by Ms. and the Groundswell Fund highlighting the work of Groundswell partners advancing inclusive democracy.)

Escaping Abuse Isn’t Easy. Here’s What Survivors and Experts Want You to Know.

PUBLISHED 10/8/2025 by

On Oct. 3, Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison, five years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine. Throughout, the question echoed: “Why didn’t she just leave?” 

“That’s the wrong question,” said Tonya King, vice president of programs at the National Network to End Domestic Violence. “We need to start asking: How can we keep a survivor safe in the first place?”

Five Ways We Can Support Women in Recovery Without Punishing Them

PUBLISHED 9/29/2025 by

Recovery is not just a personal journey—it is a struggle shaped by policies that too often punish women rather than support them. From losing custody of their children to facing barriers in treatment and the criminal legal system, women with substance use disorder encounter hurdles that men rarely experience. Trauma, stigma and inadequate access to care create a landscape where seeking help can feel like choosing between survival and motherhood.

My sister’s story—years of overdose, illness and family separation—mirrors countless others who live at the intersection of addiction, gender and policy neglect.

The solutions are clear but rarely implemented. Women need access to care that recognizes their lived realities, programs that allow them to keep their families together, and protections that prevent survival strategies from being criminalized. Trauma-informed, women-specific treatment, expanded childcare, extended postpartum coverage, and decriminalization of behaviors tied to survival are not optional—they are essential. Until our systems prioritize dignity, equity and healing, the numbers will keep rising and the stories will keep repeating. Recovery must be recognized as a right, not a risk.

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The road to recovery—and the right to recovery—is essential to a free and fair democracy. This essay is part of a new multimedia collection exploring the intersections of addiction, recovery and gender justice. The Right to Recovery Is Essential to Democracy is a collaboration between Ms. and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health at Georgetown Law, in honor of National Recovery Month.

What Does a Federal Government Shutdown Mean for Women’s Healthcare? A Stealthy Rollback of Coverage

PUBLISHED 9/25/2025 by

If cuts to premium tax credits and Medicaid stick, this won’t just be another budget fight. It will be a quiet repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—and women will bear the brunt of it.

Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries have put forward a reasonable path: Roll back the Medicaid cuts and make premium tax credits permanent. States are bracing for the Medicaid cuts, warning Washington that slashing the program would destabilize families and hospitals in their states. Extending these tax credits has bipartisan support. By any definition of negotiation, the offer has something for both sides.

Yet President Trump has dug in, canceling meetings, while the House has left town. With Republicans in control of all three branches of government, the responsibility for protecting women and families rests squarely with them.

This isn’t about “other people.” It’s about all of us.

Trump’s Pronatalist Agenda Weaponizes Motherhood to Push Women Out of Public Life

PUBLISHED 8/26/2025 by

The Trump administration is using one of the oldest tools of patriarchy—promising rewards for compliance—through a wave of proposed pronatalist policies designed to push women into motherhood and encourage them to give birth to more children.

A recent report by the National Women’s Law Center warns that these proposals are not random: They stem from an “obscure, dangerous, and increasingly influential movement of ‘pronatalists’” that are now dictating the Trump administration’s family policy. 

According to NWLC, there are two major groups of pronatalists: Silicon Valley tech elites, such as Elon Musk, who claim that “high-IQ” people like themselves should be having more children; and traditional conservatives, who advocate for pushing women back into stay-at-home motherhood.

‘It’s Always Been Me and the Boys’: How Guaranteed Income Is Helping Black Mothers Build Stronger Families and Futures

PUBLISHED 6/6/2025 by

Now in its fourth year, Front & Center is a groundbreaking Ms. series amplifying the voices of Black women navigating poverty—highlighting their struggles, resilience and dreams as they care for their families, build careers and challenge systems not built for their success.

“Every Friday, my boys and I have a special ritual. We go get snow cones and head to the snow park. We walk around, talk about our week and do affirmations. We discuss what we can do better, with each other and for ourselves. If I messed up, they let me know, and we talk about it. If I feel like they need to improve, we discuss that, too. …

“I dream of going back to school and finishing my criminal justice degree. I fell short because of hard times. But I’m going back this year! I want to make my kids proud. If I can do it, they can do it, too. It’s not easy, but it’s not hard, either. You just have to push. As long as you have that mindset, you’re going to make it.”

Childcare Won’t Be Fixed Until Moms and Dads Join Forces

PUBLISHED 6/5/2025 by and | UPDATED 6/11/2025 at 3:19 P.M. PT

The Trump administration would have you believe they’ll try anything to have more babies. Their proposed list of incentives include medals for mothers who have more than six children, classes to educate women about their menstrual cycles and special seats reserved in the Fulbright program for applicants with children. Anything, that is, except the glaringly obvious solutions: affordable, accessible childcare and paid parental leave.

If we want to secure policies that will benefit all parents, then we need to come together, breaking down the silos between those advocating for men and those advocating for women. After all, we want the same things: affordable childcare, paid leave and a living wage for all families.

‘Tap Someone In’: Mini Timmaraju on Mentorship, Motherhood and Mobilizing Indian American Women

PUBLISHED 5/20/2025 by | UPDATED 5/28/2025 at 1:12 P.M. PT

Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL), doesn’t just rise—she brings others with her. This ethos of tapping in challenges Indian American women to move from individual achievement to collective empowerment.

As my conversation with Timmaraju unfolded, we explored her childhood, her professional journey and the simplest yet most impactful action she believes Indian American women should take right now. It’s clear that Timmaraju’s story is not just about her own path, but about building pathways for others.

“We need to build our own villages—not just for family, but for career and leadership, too,” she said. “We shouldn’t do it alone.”

Why Trump’s Pronatalist Agenda Is Actually Anti-Motherhood

PUBLISHED 5/9/2025 by

This Mother’s Day, for the 111th year in a row, families across the nation will gather to celebrate all the love, care and work provided by the mothers in their lives. Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day a federal holiday nearly a year after he established the basis of today’s modern income tax system, allowing him to lower tariff rates on many of the basic necessities American families relied on in 1914.

It is darkly ironic that more than a century later, the Trump administration is attempting to reverse these pro-family policies, while at the same time promoting a pronatalist agenda aimed at creating more mothers and larger families. 

Despite promoting motherhood, Trump’s policies threaten the economic stability of the 45 percent of mothers who are primary breadwinners—especially single moms and women of color.