“The U.S. is woefully behind when it comes to family-friendly policies like paid maternity leave, paid parental leave, paid sick leave, when it comes to some measure of recognition about women’s leadership,” said Vicki Shabo, a vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families. “I think that has real consequences for how women are able to get into and advance in the workplace and in the economy.”
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
“This could coerce employees into providing information that they would otherwise not provide about their health,” said Sarah Fleisch Fink, senior policy counsel with the National Partnership on Women & Families, which was among dozens of groups that wrote comment letters seeking changes in the draft rule.
Statement of Judith L. Lichtman, Senior Advisor, National Partnership for Women & Families
Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, advised MTV on the policy issues and research studies relevant to the issue of gender-based pay quality. “The 79 percent number is known, but people don’t always consider the consequences. Reducing the median American income by $10,700 for women translates into 83 weeks of food, or 11 months of rent, or nine years of birth control,” she told The Daily Beast.
Data for these metrics was drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Child Care Aware of America, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Council for Community and Economic Research, National Partnership for Women & Families, and WalletHub’s own research.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
Black women work more than all other women, but reap fewer economic rewards. According to a December 2015 report by the National Partnership for Women and Families, a state by state analysis shows black women’s wages range from 48 to 69 cents for every dollar paid to white men.
“It is unacceptable that the wage gap has persisted, punishing the country’s women and families for decades,” wrote Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership, in a press release. “At a time when women’s wages are so critical to the economic well-being of families, the country is counting on lawmakers to work together to advance strong, fair and family friendly workplace policies that would promote equal pay.”
If the Gap Were Closed, Each Woman Could Afford Food for 1.6 Years, Seven More Months of Mortgage and Utilities, or 11 More Months of Rent
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
“I’m optimistic that in not too long the U.S. will join the rest of the world,” said Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women and Families. “We are the only high-wealth developed country that doesn’t guarantee paid paternity leave, and one of two that doesn’t offer sick leave to workers. Of the whole world, we’re one of two countries — us and Papua New Guinea — that don’t guarantee paid leave for new moms.” Shabo cited a survey of 185 nations by the International Labour Organization.
Vicki Shabo, vice-president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, said the San Francisco measure could help boost momentum at the national level. “It’s great to see local leaders stepping up,” she said, noting that California’s first-of-its-kind law served as a model for other states. “There’s a growing consensus that the nation must do something to address this.”
Still, Chamber Hires Pollster Frank Luntz to Advise Members on
How to Stop These Family Friendly Policies
A report from Women Employed estimated 460,000 private-sector workers in Chicago don’t have access to paid sick days. Another report, from the National Partnership for Women & Families, put the number at 2.1 million people in Illinois.
“This is history in the making,” said Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, who estimated that 6.4 million workers in the state who are currently without an employee-sponsored paid family leave benefit.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
“Military families make enormous sacrifices to keep our country safe, and they need and deserve policies that make it possible to remain economically secure when they need time off to care for their families,” added Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families.
Two months before, the National Partnership for Women and Families compiled a summary of legislative action on paid sick days at the state and local levels.
One way to design workplaces that champion equality without further stigmatizing women’s bodies is to create policies that have universal applications, says Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, a nonprofit advocacy organization.
