“Having a baby is the most expensive health event that families face during their childbearing years. At the same time, a lack of workplace supports for many women during this critical time means a woman may not have paid sick days for prenatal appointments or well-baby care, or paid family and medical leave to use after giving birth,” said Sarah Lipton-Lubet, vice president of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
“We were glad to see that it’s still in place, and we would hope that if and when Acosta is confirmed he will continue to maintain and enforce the executive order and won’t advocate for rescission,” Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, told Bloomberg BNA.
According to industry sources, beginning this year, members of the Iron Workers union will be given six months of paid maternity leave. This female ironworkers’ paid maternity leave policy is an important win for women in the workforce, especially since this is occurring in such a male-dominated industry.
Sarah Fleisch Fink, director of workplace policy and senior counsel at the National Partnership for Women & Families, says the bans are an important step in the ongoing fight for equal pay.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
National Partnership for Women & Families Vice President Sarah Lipton-Lubet said, “Millions of women rely on Medicaid for health coverage and access to care–from family planning to maternity care to nursing home care.”
“What we’re doing here is providing an out for employers that don’t want to take the high road and pay their employees the money that they’re owed at the time that they are owed it,” said Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
In 2015, tech giants Netflix, Microsoft and Amazon all announced paid family leave programs for their employees. Many speculated that this would start a paid leave arms race among top employers. It didn’t… the move was more flash in the pan than watershed.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
The online poll, conducted by Lake Research Partners on behalf of Small Business Majority and the Center for American Progress, found that a vast 7 in 10 owners and operators of small businesses support the recently reintroduced Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
The birth control benefit warrants a closer look because HHS doesn’t merely need to write it out of the HRSA guidelines. As National Partnership for Women & Families Vice President Sarah Lipton-Lubet warned, the administration could pull “multiple levers” to get rid of it.
But paid family leave isn’t just critical for public health, it’s also critical for a healthy economy. Paid family leave increases labor-force participation for both men and women, encouraging parents to stay in the workforce after they have a child or when they need time away to care for a loved one.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
“This analysis shows just how damaging that lost income can be for women and their families, as well as the economy and the businesses that depend on women’s purchasing power,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
“Equal Pay Day is a painful reminder that women in this country have had to work more than three months into this year just to catch up with what men were paid last year,” National Partnership President Debra L. Ness said in a statement with the analysis.
If the Gap Were Closed, Women Could Afford Food for 1.5 More Years, Seven More Months of Mortgage Payments, 11 More Months of Rent, or 15 More Months of Child Care
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
For Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, the issue of equal pay affects nearly every aspect of women’s lives. The gender wage gap “makes it hard to pay mortgage and rent, and has real practical implications for women’s ability to take care of themselves and their families,” Shabo said.
