Only through universal policies like increased unemployment benefits and guaranteed income will women, low-income people and people of color be able to recover from the pandemic and reach their full potential.
Tag: Social Security
The Bipartisan ‘Hard’ Infrastructure Bill Has Passed. Next Up: Democrats Invest in ‘Human’ Infrastructure
For Democrats in both the Senate and House, the bipartisan infrastructure bill—focused on so-called “traditional” infrastructure such as water systems, roads, bridges, clean power sources and broadband—is just the first step.
“Human infrastructure is intertwined with our physical infrastructure,” said President Biden.
It’s Time for a Whole-of-Government Approach to Address Period Poverty in the U.S.
Period poverty is one of America’s alarming—and often hidden—inequities.
As a member of Congress and as advocates, we share the belief that there is power in leveraging the law to help make healthy, dignified, stigma-free menstruation a reality for all.
Half of U.S. States are Leaving Women Workers Behind
After a year that has put parents—especially women—through unimaginable strain as they’ve struggled to keep a roof over their families’ heads and care for their children, governors in 24 states now want to rip out the rug from under them by ending state participation in federal pandemic unemployment programs.
Emergency unemployment aid is doing what it is meant to do: serving as a temporary lifeline while workers search for and return to work.
Front and Center: “Unemployment Helped Me Sustain,” Says Sabrina, a Mother of the Magnolia Mother’s Trust
Front and Center aims to put front and center the voices of Black women who are affected most by the often-abstract policies currently debated at the national level. The series highlights the success of Springboard to Opportunities’ Magnolia Mother’s Trust program, which this year will give $1,000 per month for 12 months to 100 families headed by Black women living in federally subsidized housing.
“The governor just announced that Mississippi is going to cut us off from extra unemployment benefits so I’ll be losing that $300 a week. It will be tough. I’m a good saver, but it is not going to be easy.”
Women in the Cabinet: Much Progress Has Been Made, But There’s Still a Long Way to Go
President Biden’s Cabinet features gender parity for the first time. But parity is not equality, and there are still Cabinet glass ceilings women have yet to shatter.
From the Vault: “Welfare is a Women’s Issue” (Spring 1972)
From the Spring 1972 issue:
“Society needs women on welfare as ‘examples’ to let every woman, factory workers and housewife workers alike, know what will happen if she lets up, if she’s laid off, if she tries to go it alone without a man.”
EACH Act Would End Hyde Amendment and Restore Insurance Coverage for Abortion Care
Each year since 1976, anti-abortion politicians in Congress have passed the Hyde Amendment, barring coverage of abortion health care in federal insurance programs, including Medicaid—but that may soon change.
The Feminist Majority Foundation Celebrates the Passage of the American Rescue Plan: “A Victory for Women”
Today, the U.S. House passed the Senate version of the American Rescue Plan Act, which will provide economic relief to millions of Americans suffering from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The passage of the American Rescue Plan today is a victory for women,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, publisher of Ms.
Table for 12, Please: HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge Plans to Stand Up, Speak Up and Show Up
Rep. Marcia Fudge, 58, says it is “an honor and a privilege” to be asked to join President Biden’s Cabinet. If confirmed, Fudge will follow in the footsteps of her Delta sorority sister, Patricia Roberts Harris, the first Black woman to lead HUD under the Carter administration.