Upcoming Event: Program Officer Sangeeta Budhiraja Leads Conversation on Women and Economic Recovery

On Wednesday, December 15 at 2pm EST join the National Council for Research on Women and Ms. Foundation Program Officer Sangeeta Budhiraja for an important online conversation about how to build pathways to greater economic security for women and their families.

The webinar, "Women and Economic Recovery: A View from the States," will feature a discussion of the Ms. Foundation's Southern focus and provide a snapshot of our economic security work in the South, where we fund a range of organizations crafting unique solutions to the economic crisis. "Our grantees in the South are taking a holistic approach to economic security," says Budhiraja. "They're looking at the economic crisis from a perspective that takes into account the nuanced ways it has affected women -- particularly low income women of color, who have suffered greatly throughout the recession. Immigrant organizations, child care advocacy organizations, job training programs, and organizations pushing for job quality and increased social supports: these are the groups leading the way to true economic recovery -- and we're proud to be partnered with them."

Budhiraja will be joined in conversation by Randy Albelda, Professor of Economics and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, who will share research findings from the report "Women in the Down Economy: Impacts of the Recession and the Stimulus in Massachusetts."

Be a part of this important discussion about the economic future of women and girls. To participate, register today.

New Connections Will Pave the Road to Economic Recovery

In an effort -- as of this morning unsuccessful -- to generate more Republican support for the economic recovery package, President Obama has conceded a provision that would have made it easier for states to extend Medicaid coverage for family planning services to low-income families. Yet, just last week on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, he issued a stirring statement that proclaimed:

"…..(W)e are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make. To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information, and preventative services."

Why, within days, has President Obama violated his own pledge?

Part of the answer is that our country's approach to economic policy simply ignores meaningful connections between the issues we face in our everyday lives. Because we allow abortion to be debated solely on ideological grounds, we repeatedly ignore the real-life connection between women's reproductive health and their economic security. How else could it go unnoticed that as more and more women lose their jobs, their economic well-being will be further jeopardized by limiting their access to contraception (through Medicaid or through private insurance), thus increasing their chances of an unintended pregnancy?

Making this connection visible would make it much harder for Representative John Boehner, the Republican House leader, to declaim, "How can you spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives? How does that stimulate the economy?"

A second part of the answer is that we still do not consider women's economic participation vital to our nation's economic advancement. Witness the lack of concern for the absence of decent-paying jobs for women in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. How can this be when women account for nearly 70 percent of minimum-wage and below-minimum-wage workers, and when most poor Americans are women and children? Why do we not take action to realize the potential economic contributions of half our population as we prepare to spend billions of dollars to stimulate the economy and lay the groundwork for long-term economic growth?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to criticism of the Medicaid family planning expansion by stating that it would "reduce cost." This is absolutely true. In 2007, the Congressional Budget office found that such a measure would save the federal government $200 million over five years by giving women the option to prevent unwanted pregnancies that would result in Medicaid-funded births.

But what Speaker Pelosi -- and President Obama -- didn't do, and must do, is make the connection that women's health is fundamental to our country's economic health. If we don't work quickly to ensure the economic security of women, particularly low-income women and women of color -- by increasing their access to contraception, decent-paying jobs with benefits, and quality and affordable child care -- our nation will forego the full benefit of their economic contributions now and in the future. Surely we can agree that this would be an enormous step backward in our quest for economic "recovery."

Sara K. Gould
President & CEO
Ms. Foundation for Women

[See also "Obama Recovery Plan Can't Leave Women and Families Waiting in the Wings."]

Women's Leadership Critical in Building a Successful, Just Response to Economic Crisis

Last week, Ms. Foundation CEO and President Sara K. Gould again reiterated the importance of women's leadership in the face of the market crisis and its potentially devastating aftershocks for middle and working class America.

Her entire statement was published by the Miami Herald -- read it here on our blog.

Ms. Gould concluded by saying that, "Across the U.S., women are too well-acquainted with poverty and economic insecurity. Because they know these challenges personally, however, they are often best positioned to develop the most effective strategies to address them.

“Women must be better represented at policy tables; their perspectives and leadership are crucial to bring about long-term economic stability and well-being—for women, families and communities. So as we hold key members of the public and private sector accountable for our country’s worsening economic disaster, let’s turn to women driving change at local, state and national levels for economic-justice solutions.”

Ms. Foundation for Women grantees are already pioneering strategies for addressing poverty and economic hardship in their communities and promoting grassroots and national policy alternatives that would improve economic security for low-income women and families. Here are just a few examples of how women leaders are advancing innovative strategies and solutions:

• In Rhode Island, Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE) is tackling the mortgage crisis' effect on low-income women and women of color in Providence, promoting people-centered development in the face of gentrification and displacement, and advocating for women’s budget and tax justice.
  
  
• The Multistate Working Families Consortium is a network of state coalitions working for policies that value families by enabling workers to balance their jobs with their responsibilities as parents and caregivers. They have set paid sick leave, job-protected and affordable family and medical leave for all workers, and the right of workers to have greater control of their schedules, as priorities for federal action in 2009. Just this past spring, their members helped pass paid leave legislation in New Jersey.
  
  
• Avery Institute for Social Change promotes community-driven solutions for ending health disparities while stimulating a grassroots movement for national health care reform. They’re currently working to galvanize the women's healthcare movement to support universal healthcare so that no one is forced to choose between paying their rent or paying for their child's visit to the doctor.
  
  
• Domestic Workers United, an organization of caregivers, nannies, housekeepers and other in-home workers, is advocating for the NY Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights. The legislation would establish fair labor standards for domestic workers in NY State, including a living wage, health care and basic benefits. It would guarantee domestic workers basic labor protections which they’re currently denied, address widespread issues of abuse and exploitation to which they’re often subject, and pave the way for true economic security for those entrusted with the security of their employers’ children, families and homes.
  
  
• Childspace, based in Philadelphia, works to improve the quality of jobs for historically low-wage childcare workers, and thus improve the quality of care for the children they serve. Through advocacy programs spearheaded by childcare providers themselves, they are calling for low-income workers' access to health insurance, higher state subsidies to support professional development and facility-improvement, and better management of the Pennsylvania's childcare subsidy program.