Paid Family Leave

Paid Family Leave (PFL) provides benefit payments to people who need to take time off work to:

  • Care for a seriously ill family member.
  • Bond with a new child.
  • Participate in a qualifying event because of a family member’s military deployment.

The Public Is Demanding Paid Sick Time. It’s Time for Lawmakers to Pay Attention.

There was a promising development in the 2024 election that should not be overlooked: By large and decisive margins, voters in Alaska, Missouri and Nebraska all voted yes to enacting new paid sick time laws in each state. Now, 3 million more U.S. workers have the legal right to paid sick time and will no longer need to make the impossible choice between sacrificing a paycheck and going to work or sending a child to school sick.

With these ballot wins, 19 states, as well as over a dozen localities, have now embraced paid sick time as a fundamental workplace right—and that is worth celebrating. But access to such a vital protection shouldn’t depend on luck or zip code. Tens of millions of workers are still being left behind. If Congress wants to address widespread concerns about economic hardship and rising costs of living, they can listen to voters and tangibly improve the well-being of working families everywhere by passing the federal Healthy Families Act.

The ‘Pro-Life’ Party Has a Funny Way of Respecting Women

Tony Hinchcliffe’s categorically unfunny appearance at Donald Trump’s recent rally in Madison Square Garden leaves me wishing that whoever discovered him left him sleeping in his car behind The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. (It’s how he opens the 12-minute set.)

Most of the ensuing backlash targeted Hinchcliffe’s puerile reliance on racism as humor. But another underreported moment that caught my attention was Hinchcliffe’s “joke” about Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce becoming “the next O.J. Simpson,” referencing Nicole Brown Simpson’s murder, widely believed to be the responsibility of her known abuser.

The joke hinges on the idea that Kelce might murder his girlfriend, Taylor Swift. Hinchcliffe referenced Swift’s political endorsement of Kamala Harris immediately after this joke. His punchline: If a woman voices her opinion, intimate partner violence is a hilarious solution. It’s an interesting stance for the so-called pro-life party to broadcast publicly.

How Care Became a Key Issue This Election

In response to voters’ needs and demands, the issue of care has been receiving outsized attention during this year’s election season. 

“If there’s no one to work because there’s no one to care, then we have a problem,” said Ai-jen Poo, founder of Caring Across Generations.

“If the lack of affordable and accessible childcare is what’s holding women back from reaching their economic potential, then we should make childcare affordable and accessible,” said Reshma Saujani, founder of Moms First. “As we head into the final weeks of the election, one thing is clear: The conversation has shifted. Childcare has finally been elevated into the national conversation.”

Care Policies Can Help Win Elections. Elections Can Help Win Care Policies.

and

The issues of “abortion” and “care” are highly intertwined and reinforced in voters’ minds. For many women, anger over the war on their fundamental right to control their own bodies is compounded by their inability to care for their families in the way they know is best.

Research also shows that for swing voters—especially men under 55, white men, and non-conservative Independents and Republicans—are more likely to switch their vote to a candidate who supports abortion rights and care investments, more than support for abortion alone.

‘That’s My Dad!’: Helping Men Find Purpose in an Angry World

Young men in the U.S. are in an existential crisis, and from even the most casual browsing of their online spaces, their anger and loneliness are obvious. For these male biological challenges, we need empathy and understanding. For the social constructions of masculinity, the way we raise boys and socialize men, we need a bold, new social project. As grandiose as it may sound, men are seeking purpose. 

(This essay is part of a Women & Democracy multimedia package focused on Gen Z and student voters. The future envisioned by young leaders is bright—it’s built on reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, sustainability, freedom from violence and economic opportunity. Explore essays, a brand-new podcast, videos and more from some of your most loved [or soon to be!] influencers and writers, brought to you by Ms., DoSomething, the nonprofit that helps make volunteerism “cool,” and The Anthem Awards, the social impact arm of The Webbys.)

JD Vance Is Lying on Abortion

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz faced Sen. JD Vance of Ohio Tuesday night at the vice presidential debate, and day-after results are showing more or less a toss-up on who won among pundits.

Admittedly, Vance sounded coherent and slick. But much of what he said—especially on abortion, IVF and childcare—were lies, engineered for women to let their guards down and to distance himself from his extreme views, most of which are ripped right from Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership. Vance has stood consistently against abortion rights during his two-year political career—despite attempts Tuesday night to embody a congenial and reasonable version of conservatism.

The Majority of People Are Caregivers. How Do We Invest in a Care Economy?

and

Over 90 percent of Americans view themselves as caregivers—whether child, parent or neighbor.

We need public investment in the care economy to build a culture rooted in rest, mental health, and caring for a neighbor without risking your income. There is already an action plan for policies that can improve the quality of life for parents and the overall community.

People are hurting in so many ways that I no longer expect kindness or joy. The U.S. demonstrates what we care about through the policies it enacts and retracts, and we don’t seem to have the capacity to invest in care. 

Misogynist Manifesto: Project 2025 Says Yes to ‘Biblically Based Marriages’ and No to Reproductive Rights

Part one of a three-part series about the 900-plus-page right-wing “misogynistic manifesto”:

Project 2025 promotes traditional heterosexual marriage, stigmatizing single parenthood and same-sex spouses, and cutting programs to support single mothers and their children.

(This article originally appears in the Fall 2024 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox!)

Democratic Party Platform Centers Women’s Rights

At the DNC in Chicago, party leaders approved the 2024 Democratic party platform Monday evening, promising to protect and strengthen women’s rights. The 91-page document is a stark contrast to the Republican platform, which promises to continue the dismantling of women’s rights started during Donald Trump’s first term in office.

Here are some of the parts of the Democratic party platform focused on women’s rights—including restoring abortion access, protecting contraception access, and making the Equal Rights Amendment the law of the land.