For a true recovery, lawmakers must upgrade America's care infrastructure
It's no surprise why women's employment plummeted during the pandemic - and no mystery what's needed to fix it. The problem is our nation's shameful lack of paid leave and affordable, high-quality child care. Fortunately, the solution is also obvious: A comprehensive federal policy of paid family and medical leave and a substantial investment to make child care dependable, accessible and sustainable for those who provide it.
During the pandemic, women left the labor force in record numbers, with caregiving needs being a driving factor. Today, over 2 million fewer women are working outside of the home compared to a year ago. Pandemic-related job losses have been greatest among women of color and especially among those earning low wages - the result of persistent structural racism and economic inequality. Our society has long undervalued child care providers, who are disproportionately Black, Latinx and immigrant women. Predictably, one in six lost a job this past year.
As the pandemic has shone a light on our country's caregiving crisis, policymakers have taken note. The U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on May 27 on universal child care and paid family and medical leave, the third Congressional hearing on these issues in five weeks. President Biden proposed a bold investment in child care and the creation of a national paid leave program in his American Families Plan, and members of Congress have introduced several legislative proposals to advance them both.
This interest can't come too soon. For millions of American families, the struggle to manage employment and care is not new. The United States is the only wealthy country without a national paid leave program. For 92 percent of workers in the lowest-wage jobs, the birth of a child or an unexpected illness can result in lost earnings and even job loss.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/for-a-true-recovery-lawmakers-must-upgrade-america-s-care-infrastructure/ar-AAKvPAV
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