National Survey: Americans Call for Childcare (March 1987)

From the March 1987 issue of Ms. magazine: “An overwhelming majority of Americans want employer-sponsored childcare programs, regardless of whether or not they have preschool children or are currently employed, according to Ms. magazine’s national survey. … But small percentages of those surveyed indicated that their employer currently offers any of these childcare services.”

Today, 35 years letter, America’s. social safety net remains woefully inadequate: The U.S. is the only country in the developed world that does not offer any paid maternity leave, and it ranks 39th worldwide for overall child health and well-being.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Women CEOs Finally Outnumber CEOs Named John; Washington State Could Get a Woman Governor

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: For the first time, the four agencies most responsible for ensuring Americans have access to affordable housing are all led by women; there are finally more women CEOs than CEOs named John; the South Carolina Democratic Party convention elected Christale Spain, the first Black woman to lead the organization; and more.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Number of Women in Business Leadership on the Decline; Spain’s New Gender Equity Law

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Spain is one of the first countries in Europe to set legally binding quotas on gender representation; women’s advancement in the corporate sector reveals significant backsliding; ranked-choice voting could be coming to Connecticut; and more.

The Childcare Crisis Is Costing You Money

We must do more to increase our nation’s stagnant labor force participation rate. Childcare providers and the families who depend on them cannot continue to bear the burden of supporting our current system without additional support.

The U.S. childcare system needs to be radically transformed. Our nation must focus on creating a childcare system that is affordable, accessible and equitable in the long term.

We Need to Push Harder for Women’s Representation in Leadership

Yes, it’s great that we have three more women governors now, a new record. And that an additional two seats in Congress will be held by women.

But when you look at those numbers more closely, the picture isn’t quite so bright: Women are still nowhere near where we deserve to be. More than 50 percent of the U.S. population is female, so it begs the question: Why are we still so underrepresented in these influential roles? And more importantly, what can we do to ensure that we finally achieve equal representation?

Abigail Disney Is Deconstructing and Rebuilding the American Dream

Some employees of the “happiest place on Earth” can barely afford housing and food, while the CEO makes an annual salary in the multi-millions.

“Without collective bargaining, in some form, whether it’s unions or some other para-union type organizations, we all live at the mercy of Jeff Bezos, we all live at the mercy of Bob Iger. Is that really the society you want to live in?” Abigail Disney told Ms., ahead of her new documentary, The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales, out in select theaters and on streaming Sept. 23, 2022.

With SisterMentors, Dr. Shireen Lewis Is Building a Fierce Future for Women and Girls of Color in Education

Two decades ago, Ms. had the honor of interviewing the founder of SisterMentors, Dr. Shireen Lewis, in its Summer 2000 issue—and here we are again, just as SisterMentors celebrates its 25th anniversary.

Lewis has dedicated her entire professional life to creating and growing SisterMentors, a nonprofit organization that helps women and girls of color in the education system. Through her work, she is empowering young women and girls of color to overcome deep-seated institutional inequities in the education system.

“I see Black and Brown women and girls as having a major role to play in helping to save the world. And we’re not just talking academia, but leaders in the public and the private sector.”

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Brittney Griner’s Detention Matters for All Women; Is Serena Williams Retiring on Her Own Terms?

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment!

This week: Is Serena Williams retiring on her own terms?; progress for women in Kenyan politics; India falls behind for parity; Brittney Griner’s detention is a travesty; women of color are well-positioned to take power after the Minnesota primaries; New York Times endorses three white men; and more.