Join us for IWPR’s 2026 Power+ Summit, The Power Grid: Driving Gender Equity Forward, taking place September 28–29 in Detroit, MI.
Together, we will spark bold ideas, share breakthroughs, and shape the future of gender equity.
I do believe that as parents continue to go back to work, we are going to remain open. I don’t see child care becoming a declining business. Some parents that are able to stay home with their children will probably do so. I would probably do so if I were in their position also. But there are, unfortunately, parents that have no other choice but to work and place their child back in care. –Tenille, a child care provider
Since March, 57 million Americans have sought unemployment assistance. The “shecession,” an economic downturn that affects women more strongly than men, has ravaged women and families, especially in communities of color. Women are bearing the brunt of child care responsibilities as a result of school and child care closures, a hardship for both essential workers and women who are able to work from home, and this has forced many women out of the work force.
At IWPR, we believe that bold solutions are needed to resolve this crisis. Tomorrow, we release our economic recovery report, Build(ing) The Future: Bold Policies for a Gender-Equitable Recovery. The report provides a blueprint for a gender-equitable recovery that is not only about meeting the immediate economic needs of women and families, but that lays out a long-term strategy for creating stronger systems and institutions that reflect the experiences and contributions of women in the workforce, in society, and to their families.
Read the report and then join us at 1:00 p.m. for an online event following the report release, Build(ing) the Future: A Symposium on the Polices we need for an Equitable Future for Women & Families. We will discuss the policies needed at the state and federal levels with experts including:
- (Moderator) Myra Jones-Taylor, Zero to Three
- Carol Burnett, Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative
- Fatima Goss Graves, National Women’s Law Center
- Rep. Brenda L. Lawrence
- Nicole Lynn Lewis, Generation Hope
- C. Nicole Mason, Institute for Women’s Policy Research
- Shilpa Phadke, Center for American Progress
- Lorella Praeli, Community Change
- Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO