“We know that people are more likely to go to work sick or send a sick child to school if they don’t have access to paid sick days,” Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership of Women & Families, explains. “So it’s an economic security issue for women, and it’s also a public health and a personal health issue for everyone.”
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
“I think we need to watch everything the administration does with respect to women,” said Sarah Lipton-Lubet, vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families. “[Trump’s] stacking the cabinet with really the most virulent opponents of abortion and women’s health.”
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
The D.C. Council gave final approval to a plan that will provide private-sector workers some of the nation’s most generous family and medical leave benefits, fighting off a last-minute revolt by the city’s business establishment and Mayor Muriel E. Bowser.
Utah is a state that emphasizes strengthening families. However, our current treatment of working mothers does not reflect this community value.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
Vicki Shabo, vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families, says that whenever companies “recognize that employees have personal lives that should be rich and fulfilling…it’s a positive thing.”
My name is Cecile Johnston, and I am the owner of Jumping Raindrops Sewing and Design in Montpelier. I’m writing to address the importance of a statewide family and medical leave insurance program and shine a light on the very real implications such a program would have for families throughout the state of Vermont.
We were glad to hear the President-elect talk about the need for relief for working women. But those of us who have fought for decades for affordable leave cannot support his flawed proposal for paid maternity leave, and members of Congress who believe in real policy change for working families should not support it either.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
“They will frame this as flexibility, but it’s about the federal government paying less or making it easier for states to cut back on services,” said Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
“We commend Exelon’s dedication to promoting pay equity in the workplace by signing the White House Equal Pay Pledge, and we urge others to follow in the company’s footsteps to strengthen workplace protections for women and advance fair and family friendly policies,” said National Partnership for Women & Families President Debra Ness.
Starting Jan. 1, Ikea’s 14,000 salaried and hourly workers in the U.S. will receive up to four months of paid parental leave. Lars Petersson, head of Ikea’s U.S. operations, told the Wall Street Journal that the company expects the program to improve productivity and reduce turnover.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
Too often new parents feel terrified—and not just about the daunting prospect of raising a child. Many of them must grapple with a gut-wrenching decision: How quickly can they leave their newborn to get back to their job? Few can afford to go without salaries for long or to weaken their future wage-earning potential by leaving their job altogether.
As National Adoption Month comes to a close, we reflected on local employers who’ve made an impact in the lives of employees who adopt. Extending paid parental leave is a trend several large banks have joined this year to build in more flexibility and financial support for employees to care for their families.
When taking time off after giving birth means risking a paycheck, everything becomes arduous — healing, bonding with the baby, breastfeeding. Governments need to invest in guaranteed paid family and medical leave and other policies so that families don’t have to win the job lottery to give their children the healthiest start to life.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families