In the Lead2021-01-07T17:39:15-05:00


In the Lead

Child Care Cliff
American Families Hurtle Towards the "Child Care Cliff"

American families are less than two weeks away from the expiration of child care stabilization funding – what experts are calling a “child care cliff”— and there is no indication that policymakers in Washington intend to stop it.

Student Parent Month 2023
September is Student Parent Month!

Read our latest blog about the unique challenges student parent face as they pursue their degrees and raise a family at the same time.

Moms EPD 2023
Mothers’ Wage Inequities Go Beyond Paid Labor

August 15 was Mom's Equal Pay Day and IWPR's research shows that In 2021, working moms made just 62 cents on the dollar compared to working fathers.

Black Womens EPD 2023
Black Women’s Equal Pay Day 2023: No Matter What State They Live In, Black Women Make Less Than White Men

Black women earned 64 cents for every dollar earned by White men in 2022 and won't reach pay equity until 2144, according to data released by IWPR ahead of Black women’s Equal Pay Day.

OTC Contraception
FDA Approval of First Daily Over the counter oral contraceptive

In a significant milestone for women's reproductive health, this week, the FDA announced its approval for the first daily oral contraceptive in the U.S. without a prescription.

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Maine’s Latest Budget Establishes State’s First Paid Leave Program and Boosts Child Care

This week, Governor Janet Mills signed into law Maine’s latest budget, which invests $25 million in a state paid family and medical leave program. The passage of the budget represents a major victory for workers and advocates, who fought to establish critical protections for workers who must take time away from work due to caregiving obligations or health needs.   With passage of this budget bill, Maine becomes the 14th state (including D.C.) to require mandatory paid leave for workers who [...]

Dismantling Barriers to Degree Attainment for Black Single Mother Students

A college degree can be a critical tool to economic stability, security, and advancement, yet structural and systemic issues create challenges for some students. Black single mothers pursuing higher education are disproportionately impacted by factors including lack of child care, educational affordability, and housing. Because of the compounding impact of intersecting forms of discrimination, policymakers must take an intersectional approach, targeting the structural disadvantages that affect Black women’s experiences within higher education.  Due to a history of discrimination and educational [...]

Supreme Court Blocks Biden Student Debt Relief Program

Today, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Biden Administration’s student debt relief program is unlawful and beyond the scope of executive authority. The program would have eliminated up to $10,000 of student debt for borrowers earning up to $125,000 per year ($250,000 for married couples) and up to $20,000 of student debt for borrowers who participated in the Pell Grant program. The Court’s striking down of this program is a devastating blow to efforts to improve college accessibility and [...]

The U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and the Workplace

Women have long been at the forefront of the labor rights movements. Yet, in 2023, women still face high rates of gender-based violence in the workforce and are often last considered in labor protections. Due to global gender inequity, workplace gender-based violence is a global problem that is experienced in all fields of work. Despite growing attention and activism around gender-based violence in the workplace, gender discrimination remains a serious problem. President Biden came into office announcing his intention to [...]

One Year Ago This Week, A Supreme Court Leak Foretold the End of Roe v. Wade

This week marks a full year since Politico published a leaked draft of the opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that overturned Roe v. Wade. That leak turned out to be an accurate preview of what we all feared was coming: the complete upending of abortion access across the United States.   The Dobbs decision has had devastating impacts, triggering a cascade of abortion bans in the states. A year on from the leak, 14 states [...]

Reflecting On All Women’s History This March

The year was 1963: President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated to his second presidential term, the Vietnam and Cold Wars were at their peak, and segregation and its consequences were contaminating the nation. While prices were lower, the cost of denial of human rights was at an all-time high. The American public had to confront the social, political, and economic injustice that founded the country. A critical step in that direction was the passage of the Equal Pay Act, which [...]

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