Economy Education

U.S. Education Department Cancels $5.8 Billion in Student Loans for Borrowers with Permanent Disabilities

On Thursday, the Education Department announced that over 323,000 borrowers who have permanent disabilities will automatically receive federal student loan forgiveness, amounting to a total of $5.8 billion in canceled student loan debt. The federal student loan forgiveness process for borrowers who cannot work due to permanent disabilities will now be automated. Borrowers declared permanently […]

Economy Health

Largest Ever Increase in Food Stamp Benefits Approved by Biden Administration

On Monday, the Biden Administration announced that food stamp benefits would increase by 25% above pre-pandemic levels. This is the greatest benefits increase in the history of the program.   Before the pandemic, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amounted to $121 per person each month. Under the new adjustment, SNAP benefits are expected […]

Activism Economy Race

Black Women’s Equal Pay Day is Today

Today marks Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, which is the day that Black women would have to work into 2021 in order to make the same amount of money that non-Hispanic white men made in 2020. Black women are paid $0.63 for every $1.00 a non-Hispanic white man makes, according to the ACS Census data. […]

Economy Labor Rights Ms. Magazine Sister Sites

Half of U.S. States are Leaving Women Workers Behind

This piece originally appeared on Ms. Magazine’s digital site After a year that has put parents—especially women—through unimaginable strain as they’ve struggled to keep a roof over their families’ heads and care for their children, Republican governors in 24 states now want to rip out the rug from under them by ending state participation in federal pandemic unemployment programs.  These […]

Activism Economy Race

Black Lives Matter Launches $3M COVID-19 Survival Fund

Early this month the racial justice organization Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation launched the $3 million Survival Fund, which will provide microgrants to Black individuals and communities who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The Associated Press reports that organization plans to give out 3,000 microgrants of $1,000 each to “anyone who identifies […]

Economy Health On the Hill

Biden and Senate Republicans Hold a Meeting to Discuss COVID Relief Plan

President Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, and a group of Republican Senators have countered with a narrower $618 billion proposal. Both plans call for $160 billion to be put toward a national vaccination program, expansion of testing and equipment, and reimbursement of hospital medical providers. While the Republican plan matches the […]

Economy Labor Rights

The Pandemic & Its Detriment to the Female Workforce

“Women have never experienced an unemployment rate in the double digits since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began reporting data by gender in 1948 – until now.” Women’s unemployment was almost 3 points higher than men’s in April, and has not experienced the same amount of recovery as men’s in subsequent months. This is due […]

Courts Economy Health

Michigan Women Sue To Repeal Period Tax

Three Michigan women are suing the state’s Treasury Department over taxes on menstrual products, claiming the taxes violates the equal protections clause in both the state and U.S. constitutions. The plaintiffs, represented by menstrual equity group Period Equity, is suing to end the tax and to issue a refund to people who have paid the […]

Economy Race

Pandemic Puts a Spotlight on Black Women’s Pay Gap

This year, August 13 marks Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, which represents the approximate date into the new year that Black women must work in order to make what the average white non-Hispanic man made the previous year, recognizing the steep wage gap. Unlike other years, however, the date falls in the midst of the […]

Economy Health Reproductive Choice

Millions of Dollars of Federal COVID-19 Aid Goes to U.S. Anti-Abortion Groups

Numerous Christian anti-abortion groups received millions of dollars in forgivable loans from the federal coronavirus aid program the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Fortunately, money from this program also went to pro-choice, reproductive rights groups. Notably, Planned Parenthood received $80 million in PPP loans. This allocation of taxpayer-backed dollars comes in the context of a pandemic […]

Afghanistan Economy Global Womens Rights

USAID Afghan Rug Project Aims to Empower Women and Bolster the Economy

A project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is putting Afghanistan’s traditional rug industry back into the hands of Afghan weavers. This project, based in Kabul, aims to grow Afghanistan’s economy and empower women. The nine-million-dollar project, run by Rob Leahy in South Carolina, acts as the ‘middle man’ between Afghan […]

Economy Health

Women Make Up the Majority of COVID-19 Job Losses in the U.S.

Though they make up only half the U.S. workforce, women make up 55 percent of those currently unemployed due to COVID-19, effectively erasing the gains made in workplace equality since the recession of 2008. The current unemployment crisis has been deemed a “she-cession” by C. Nicole Mason, president and chief executive of the Institute for […]

Economy Health On the Hill

House Democrats Propose $3 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package

House Democrats and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have released their newest bill to address the coronavirus pandemic, proposing ambitious measures to boost the economy, increase COVID-19 testing, and ensure safe elections this fall. Party leaders expect to vote on the bill, dubbed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, on Friday. The 1,815-page […]