Unemployment Archives - Ms. Magazine

Trump-Era Federal Layoffs Hit Black Women Hardest

PUBLISHED 2/5/2026 by Belle Taylor-McGhee

There is a shift happening in the labor force that favors men in general, and white men in particular. And Black women—who historically have found more job security and upward mobility in federal employment—are now seeing those federal jobs slip away in record numbers.

“What we are seeing happening is a federal government that is intent on creating a DEI boogeyman to radically change how workplaces operate in ways that disadvantage women, people of color and LGBTQ workers,” says Gaylynn Burroughs, vice president for education and workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Center.

Affordable Housing as a Human Right: Activist Diane Yentel on the U.S. Housing Crisis, Racial Justice and Democracy

PUBLISHED 9/21/2022 by Eleanor J. Bader

Right now, low-income renters are facing rising inflation, skyrocketing rents, limited tenant protections and a shortage of affordable units. Predictably, this is leading to an increasing number of evictions and a spike in homelessness.

Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, sees housing and racial justice as inextricably linked. “We must ensure that low-income people can participate in democracy by removing the barriers to voting that make it difficult to cast a ballot.”

Ending Childhood Poverty: A Bipartisan Approach Is the Only Way Forward

PUBLISHED 5/23/2022 by Dana Toppel

The child tax credit had historic bipartisan support. We can get back to that if we agree that supporting caregivers and children is a top priority for our country.

Women Need Their Jobs Back for This Next Phase of the Economic Recovery

PUBLISHED 11/23/2021 by Lauren Melodia

Women continue to face obstacles returning to employment, due to care responsibilities and a loss of public education jobs during the pandemic. These obstacles will require public investment and government action that centers women’s experiences and needs.

Paid Leave Is Necessary to Truly Support Families

PUBLISHED 11/8/2021 by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

The goal of the Build Back Better framework is to solve the challenges that families are facing and to build a stronger future that gives them more opportunity to thrive and leaves them less vulnerable to emergencies. To truly do that, we need to create a universal paid family and medical leave program.

There’s a Hole in Our “Recovery” the Size of a Generation

PUBLISHED 11/3/2021 by Nia West-Bey

Young people’s continued struggle is an indictment of our “recovery.” A year ago, we knew that the COVID-19 pandemic was taking a particularly brutal toll on youth and young adults. One year later, the portrait remains virtually unchanged.

But there is still an opportunity to change course and make investments that prioritize young people.

Build Back Better Would Achieve Feminists’ Long-Deferred Dream of Affordable Childcare

PUBLISHED 11/2/2021 by Carrie N. Baker

The U.S. lags behind countries across the globe in terms of supporting working women and families. Most countries guarantee workers paid family leave and offer generous support for childcare. Not the United States. But that may soon change—at least in part.

Half of U.S. States are Leaving Women Workers Behind

PUBLISHED 5/27/2021 by Andrew Stettner, Ellie Kaverman and Julie Kashen

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.

Addressing Gendered Burdens in India During COVID-19

PUBLISHED 5/25/2021 by Bansari Kamdar

Women and girls in India seem to be fighting a triple pandemic: One, that is restricting their mobility; two, that is restricting their access to education and employment; and three, that is pushing them into forced child marriages and cycles of violence.

Full Employment is Not Enough to Support Black Women

PUBLISHED 3/31/2021 by Suzanne Kahn

As has been well-documented during this pandemic, women and men interact with the economy differently. Because of occupational segregation and caregiving obligations, women have been forced out of the workforce at a higher rate than men. For new full-employment policies to serve women, they must proactively address these and other obstacles.

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