In the Lead
Not Built with Them in Mind: It’s Time to Center Black Single Mothers in Higher Ed
“College campuses were not designed with student parents in mind.” This is now a common refrain echoed among student parent success advocates. It must be acknowledged, too, that the U.S. system of higher education was not designed for women, Black people, anyone parenting while in college, or those who experience life at the intersections of all three of these identities.
The Future of the Expanded Child Tax Credit: Holding on to Hope
Expanding the Child Tax Credit was a historic policy moment and a hopeful national experiment on how recurring payments to families with children can impact economic security. How might we build on this to secure a brighter future for women and families?
A Historic Expansion in Paid Family and Medical Leave in the Nation’s Capital
This month, DC’s Paid Family Leave Program was approved to expand in a powerful way, thanks to a law that Councilmember Elissa Silverman successfully entered into the 2022 Budget. The expansion, which will go into effect beginning July 1, 2022, will increase paid leave for private sector workers from 8 to 12 weeks for parental leave, and from 6 to 12 weeks for family caregiving leave and medical leave. Employers will also see a reduced payroll tax rate after the policy’s reevaluation by the City’s Chief Financial Officer.
Equal Pay Day 2022: Digging Deeper into This Year’s Gender Wage Gap
Equal Pay Day, March 15th, is a day of observance of the persistent gender wage gap in the United States. It marks how far into the new year that women must work to earn what men made in the previous year. Women working full-time earn 83.1 percent of men’s median weekly earnings. But this figure only tells part of the story because it only includes full-time workers. Women are more likely than men to work part-time due to family responsibilities, [...]
Conference on the U.S. Care Infrastructure to Highlight Problems and Possibilities Post-COVID
On March 4 and 5, 2022, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research will host a conference on “The U.S. Care Infrastructure: From Promise to Reality” with the American University Program on Gender Analysis in Economics and the Carework Network. With the fate of the Build Back Better agenda uncertain, and the U.S. care infrastructure in imminent need of overhaul, expert panelists will discuss what is necessary to ensure a comprehensive and equitable care infrastructure both for people who do care [...]
Student Debt Is a Crisis for Women, and Black Women Bear the Greatest Burden
After treading water through two years of pandemic-related student loan forbearance, people with student debt are due to resume payments on May 1, 2022, a shift that will leave many to drown. Student debt is a crisis in the United States, and one that disproportionately impacts women and people of color. Achieving economic mobility—or even just stability—often requires a postsecondary credential. While some unique career paths, like construction trades, offer apprenticeship as a pathway to good jobs, the vast majority [...]
