The Recession’s Deepening Toll on Women: Capitol Hill Briefing a Success

On June 24th, before a standing-room-only crowd, the Ms. Foundation and the Center for Community Change, together with Lake Research Partners, presented the results of a new nationwide poll [pdf] underscoring the recession's deepening toll on women.

Sponsored by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Linda Sánchez (D-CA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), this Capitol Hill briefing offered important perspectives on the need for job creation at the local level through, among other measures, passage of national legislation to create and save more than a million public and private jobs in local communities this year.

Celinda Lake, President of Lake Research Partners, kicked off the forum by presenting the polling results we've mentioned here before -- showing that a majority of Americans believe the government should play a larger role in shaping our economy and creating jobs, and highlighting how women are particularly affected by the failing job market. To that end, Representative Rosa DeLauro spoke about the increasing pressure women are facing as a greater share of them become co- or sole breadwinners in their households, making pay equity issues even more acute. Rep. DeLauro encouraged the support of the Paycheck Fairness Act, as well as the Local Jobs for America Act (HR 4812), noting that benefits to women will be substantial from the latter bill, as they are a large share of job holders in the education sector as well as over 60% of state and local government employees.

Representatives Linda Sánchez and Gwen Moore also held forth to lift up the need for job creation for women -- particularly low-income women and women of color, who are experiencing high unemployment rates across the nation (African American women: 12.4%; Hispanic women: 10.3%; white women: 7.4%).

Gail Cohen, Chief Economist for the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), spoke briefly on the results of a report called "Working Mothers in the Great Recession." The JEC has found that only in May did women gain almost the same number of jobs as men -- but only in temporary Census jobs. In the private sector in May, women lost 1000 jobs while men gained 42,000 jobs. Unsurprisingly, single mothers and African Americans have been hit disproportionately hard by the recession, the report shows. And part-time pay inequality remains a large concern, as many women are part-time workers.

Closing out the roster of speakers, Patricica Nalls, Founder and Executive Director of the Women's Collective, explained how the recession has affected her nonprofit, which serves the needs of women and girls with HIV. The economic downturn has resulted in a 30% loss in funding to her organization, forcing her to cut her staff from 25 to 15 employees. As a result, her clients -- HIV positive women and girls -- are missing out on much needed services. The Local Jobs for America Act, she pointed out, would allow her to rehire her staff and retain critical services to a community in need.

Learn more about the Community Voices on the Economy project: Read an Op-Ed by Ms. Foundation President & CEO Sara K. Gould and Deepak Bhargava, executive director of CCC, on how Americans want their government to behave in this new economic climate. Or download this mp3 file to listen to audio of a recent webinar explaining the poll's findings in depth.

Thanks to Susan Rees, Director of Policy and National Projects at Wider Opportunities for Women, for her assistance in capturing this information.


Photo: by Elizabeth Rappaport, Kentucky Jobs With Justice, Louisville, Kentucky, March 2010

Tired Americans Want Government Help

By Deepak Bhargava and Sara K. Gould

The tea party movement insists that a growing majority of Americans want less government and endorse an "everyone for themselves" mentality.

But these tea-party-infused sound bites turn out to have little to do with most Americans' actual beliefs.

A majority of people want government to take a larger and stronger role in making the economy work for average Americans, according to a new nationwide poll conducted by Lake Research Partners for the Center for Community Change and the Ms. Foundation for Women. Roughly 52 percent of respondents agreed with that statement.

This government role could include creating jobs and training programs, helping cut health care costs and combating corporate greed.

These attitudes were particularly pronounced among groups hit hardest by the recession. For example, 66 percent of African-American women and 68 percent of Latinas want government to play a larger role. In April, unemployment reached 13.7 percent among African-American women and 11.1 percent for Latinas.

Those polled are less concerned about the federal budget deficit than they are about rising health care costs, lack of jobs with family-sustaining wages and the affordability of daily expenses such as food and gas.

How do we interpret these findings, given such persistent voices to the contrary?

It is true that most Americans view individual responsibility as vitally important for improving one?s life. But this is not the "everyone for themselves" individualism of the tea party movement.

For a majority of those surveyed, individual responsibility cannot be separated from responsibility toward one's family, community and the economy as a whole. Nine out of 10 agree that government and corporations should join with individuals to place the common good above greed.

The vast majority questioned the values our economy rewards, particularly the "everyone for themselves" mentality. When given a choice of values they want the economy to reward, they ranked "everyone for themselves" last. Unfortunately, they also said that value best describes the economy today.

This seems to contradict recent polls that show Americans have all but given up on government's ability to do the right thing. Most of these surveys, however, reflect a disconnect from a vast and amorphous federal government.

At the local level, people clearly feel differently about the governments in their own communities and the vital role they play in promoting healthy and productive families.

It is also clear, despite messages from the far right, that most Americans do not think government should withdraw support for communities in need.

Three out of four people surveyed say policies that could create more jobs with decent wages and benefits for low-income families are important to them personally. Even more -- 88 percent -- agree they would be good for the economy.

Our data underscore what many Americans have been saying for some time about an "economic recovery" that they consider has helped Wall Street and bypassed them.

For large segments of the population, the recession shows little signs of abating. Slightly less than half of Americans still worry that they, or someone in their household, will be out of a job in the next year. More than half worry that they, or someone in their household, will not work enough hours to make ends meet.

These views are most evident among those hurting long before the recession began -- particularly single mothers and minority women.

Though the downturn has been labeled a "mancession?" -- because of the large number of men who lost jobs -- recent evidence shows women are actually faring worse.

From October 2009 to March 2010, according to a Joint Economic Committee report, women lost 22,000 jobs while men gained 260,000 -- as more private-sector employers started hiring again.

And women, who make up 60 percent of state and local government employees, are hit hard by the state fiscal crisis and resulting layoffs.

Latinas also have been hard hit. Two-thirds said their circumstances have been affected by the country's economic woes, and more than half said they or someone in their household has lost a job in the past year.

These findings underscore the need for bold action to address structural problems that lead to long-term unemployment.

That means passing legislation such as the Local Jobs for America Act, introduced last week in the Senate and earlier this year in the House.

The bill, which could save or create 750,000 jobs in local nonprofits and governments, targets funds to communities with high rates of unemployment and poverty.

It also means addressing fundamental inequities. Three out of four of those polled, for example, say that equal pay and benefits for men and women are personally important to them. Even more say such parity is a vital component of a healthy economy.

As our poll demonstrates, this is not the time for political leaders to skimp on investments that could bring large payoffs for families, communities and our economy.

Taking a stand against government spending may play well for the tea party but is unlikely to play as well among those wondering when the economic recovery will come to their neighborhood.

Deepak Bhargava is executive director of the Center for Community Change; Sara K. Gould is president and chief executive officer of the Ms. Foundation for Women.

This piece originally appeared on Politico.

Learn more about the Community Voices on the Economy project.

March on Washington for Immigration Reform

This Sunday 21 March 2010 the Center for Community Change (CCC), many of our grantee partners, dozens of progressive organizations, and tens of thousands of individuals are marching on Washington, DC in support of immigration reform. Activists around the country have signed on, calling for a vision of "reform [that] includes immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens working shoulder to shoulder to achieve better wages, working conditions, and labor protections, and of an America that's back to work, with a fair balance between main street and Wall Street." [March for America website].

These voices have already made an impact on Capitol Hill. Last week, in anticipation of this huge action, President Obama met with leading grassroots activists and advocacy leaders to establish a path forward for a comprehensive reform agenda. It's a step in the right direction, but we need more than a plan to plan. We need real reform.

We urge you to step forward and join Ms. Foundation grantees including Legal Momentum, Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, Latina Initiative and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health in Washington, DC. Tell lawmakers that America's founding principles demand true democracy, where social and economic justice is guaranteed for all.

Sign-up to march. Show your support online. Learn more.

Fixing the Jobs Crisis Demands More Than $100 Billion

Deepak Bhargava of the Center for Community Change explores why a plan for job creation must be larger than $100 billion. In the Huffington Post he writes:

It's not enough when you have the worst unemployment crisis in 70 years with nearly 16 million unemployed Americans and another 9.3 million underemployed. It's not enough when according to economic forecasts the unemployment rate will remain above 8 percent through 2011. It's not enough when 8 million jobs have been completely removed from payrolls since the start of the recession, nearly a million more than previously estimated.

Read the full article, When is $100 Billion Not Enough?.

Collapsing 'Universe' in Health 'Reform'

Framed as yet another "wedge issue," and superfluous to true health care reform, immigrants' rights joins reproductive justice on the Congressional chopping block. Excuse us, but what ever happened to the term universal?

Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change, shares his thoughts on the matter in the Huffington Post:

All of the plans getting serious consideration in Congress would exclude undocumented immigrants. Many proposals would even bar access to community health centers and emergency rooms -- a historic shift from America's humanitarian tradition that in an emergency no one should be turned away. Some proposals would exclude legal resident immigrants who have been in the United States for less than five years. Unless the debate takes a different turn, millions of immigrants will be left out of the system.

We should not enshrine discriminatory principles into a new health care system. A "universal" health care program that leaves out millions of Americans is a fraud. Just as we stand up for other core principles in the health care debate -- quality, affordability, a strong public plan -- we need to stand up for immigrant coverage as an essential component of just and effective health care reform. Read more

Outrageous Act: Join a Mobile Action Network for Immigration Reform

The Center for Community Change (CCC) has issued a call for supporters in the fight for comprehensive immigration reform and the effort to create a path to citizenship for undocumented Americans. Connect to the movement and support the May 1 marches for reform.

To get updates and action alerts direct to your mobile
phone: Text JUSTICE or [JUSTICIA en espÃnol] to 69866

America won’t work for any of us until it works for all of us. For more information about the struggle for immigrant justice see the CCC’s Fair Immigration Reform Movement.