A little-known provision in the Build Back Better Act being negotiated in Congress could help catalyze the full federal repeal of the subminimum wage for people with disabilities.
Social Security
Pennsylvania Medicaid Abortion Coverage Ban Challenged Under State ERA: “Sex Discrimination, Pure and Simple”
Pennsylvania-based abortion providers and reproductive rights lawyers filed their brief in a lawsuit—Allegheny Reproductive Health Center v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services—asking the state’s Supreme Court to strike down the Pennsylvania ban on Medicaid funding for abortion as a violation of the Equal Rights Amendment and equal protection provisions of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
Mississippi Abortion Clinic at the Center of the Dobbs v. Jackson Case Closes Its Doors
The fate of Mississippi’s last clinic—and, quite possibly, abortion access nationwide—rests in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.
As Unemployment Benefits End in 26 States, the Movement for Economic Justice Shifts to Long-Term Solutions
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.
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.
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.”