[[link removed]] Ms. Memo: This Week in Women's Rights
February 22, 2023
From the ongoing fight for abortion rights and access, to elections, to the drive for the Equal Rights Amendment, there are a multitude of battles to keep up with. In this weekly roundup, find the absolute need-to-know news for feminists.
The Childcare Crisis Is Costing You Money [[link removed]]
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Shanikia Johnson helps student Magjor Jones, 3, at Little Flowers Early Childhood and Development Center in Baltimore, Md., on Jan. 12, 2021. (Matt Roth / The Washington Post via Getty Images)
BY MICHELLE MCCREADY and WENDY CHUN-HOON | Let’s imagine, just for a moment, a childcare and early learning system that has the public investment it truly needs. Our educators would be compensated fairly, their facilities supported and families would no longer struggle to afford and find high-quality programs for their children. Everyone connected to that strong childcare system would have more freedom to contribute to an even stronger economy.
In early January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly Employment Situation Report. It found that while the nation’s unemployment rate ticked down in December 2022 and now sits at historically low levels, the labor force participation rate—or the approximate percentage of the population who works or is actively seeking work—remained stagnant and unchanged since the beginning of 2022.
In fact, the U.S. labor force participation rate of 62.3 percent is well below most G20 countries.
The picture worsens for women. Their labor force participation lags that of men by more than 11 percentage points. For families, and especially mothers, available childcare can make a significant difference by increasing labor force participation, sustaining employment and achieving economic security.
We read news articles almost daily about parents who want to work. They want to participate in the labor force, but cannot afford or find the childcare they need to hold down a job. Countless parents have told us how entire paychecks can be spent to meet the staggering price of childcare. Research supports what we’ve heard: In 2021, Child Care Aware of America’s (CCAoA) analyses showed that childcare prices increased by 5 percent.
Consider what Joy, a mom in Texas, shared, “If I can’t go to work, I can’t afford to pay for childcare. And if I don’t have childcare, I can’t get to work.”
Parents like Joy are caught in an endless cycle of not being able to find, afford or keep childcare.
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Proposed California Law Would Block Digital Surveillance of People Seeking Abortion and Gender-Affirming Care [[link removed]] Biden Administration Releases First-Ever Report on Diversity in Federal Government [[link removed]]
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As Conservatives Try to Ban the Abortion Pill Mifepristone, New Research Shows Accessible Ulcer Drug Safely Ends Pregnancy Up to 12 Weeks [[link removed]] Dream Schools Can Be a Nightmare—But a New Data Tool Empowers Student Survivors [[link removed]]
What we're reading
Because it's hard to keep up with everything going on in the world right now. Here's what we're reading this week:
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"These
women
journalists
were
doing
their
jobs.
That
made
them
targets.”
—
The
Washington
Post
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[link removed] [[link removed]] Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]] .
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ recent attempts to ban an Advanced Placement course in African American studies have us thinking about American fragility, and the drastic consequences of this censorship. Not to mention, what does this mean for our constitutional rights—matters like free speech, and the First Amendment? When the government infringes on our fundamental constitutional rights, how can we fight back?
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