As millions file for unemployment, many are now dealing with a pandemic-related ripple effect: a massive loss of employment-dependent health and dental insurance across America. It’s difficult to count just how many Americans have lost insurance. Since Mid-March, about 22 million workers have filed unemployment claims. As the pandemic continues and state workforce offices slowly […]
Women Are The Majority of America’s Essential Workforce
Nearly one in three jobs held by women are officially considered essential work, meaning women are the majority of those on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a new report by The New York Times, nearly 52 percent of all essential workers are women. This includes 77 percent of the health care worker, […]
Millions of Low-Income Individuals Waiting for Relief Payments That May Never Arrive
Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that more than 80 million Americans have received their COVID-19 relief payments via direct deposit. However, millions of people are still waiting, or may never receive their payments. The key challenge for the IRS is getting payments to individuals who are not typically required to file tax returns–largely low-income […]
Seven Midwest States Announce Their Plan to Partner on Reopening
On Thursday, governors from seven Midwestern states announced that they will coordinate on reopening the Midwest regional economy. The Midwest pact joins the Northeast and West Coast in an effort to coordinate amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Midwest bipartisan effort includes Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Kentucky. In the governors’ collaboration, they announced […]
COVID-19 Small Business Loan Program Runs Out of Funds as Businesses Struggle
Funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, a new federal program part of the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill signed into law late March, is already running out of funding. With no viable proposals by lawmakers in the works as of yet, the risk of bankruptcies and additional millions of unemployed workers seems more and more plausible […]
Insurance Companies Say Action Must Be Taken to Avoid Collapse of Insurance Industry
Representatives of the insurance industry took action and wrote a letter to some congressional lawmakers in California, revealing that insurance companies do not have the foundations necessary to withstand the COVID-19 pandemic. “Insurance coverage works by spreading risk, but that model simply cannot account for a situation in which losses are catastrophic and nearly universal,” […]
Medical Professionals Ask For Advance Medicare Payments During Pandemic
For many healthcare professionals who own medical practices during the coronavirus outbreak, concerns have grown over how to pay rent. Private practices, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities have faced a massive influx of patients, though revenue has dropped because appointments are now generally over the phone or computer. This loss of revenue makes it difficult to pay […]
Majority of COVID-19 Related Job Loss Falls on Women and Minorities
The U.S. Labor Department reports that 701,000 workers were laid off in March due to COVID-19, with almost 60 percent of those being women. Earlier this year, women had overtaken men to make up the majority of the national workforce, but layoffs have put them back in the minority. Stay-at-home orders and mandatory business closures have […]
Instacart, Amazon Workers Strike for Coronavirus Protections
Workers at Instacart and Amazon struck yesterday and today, critiquing the companies for not prioritizing their safety in response to coronavirus. Instacart, an app-based delivery service, employs gig workers to go into grocery stores, pick up orders and deliver orders to homes. The company wrote in an official statement, “As the crisis unfolds, our teams […]
Pay Gap Expected to Worsen Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Activists’ work to close the gender pay gap may be undermined by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to experts, as women take time off or are laid off in order to care for others, any advances could be reversed. The International Labor Organization (ILO) reports that women earn approximately one-fifth less than their male counterparts across […]
Need for Universal Paid Sick and Family Medical Leave More Urgent Than Ever
The global pandemic caused by COVID-19, also commonly referred to as coronavirus, has revealed a number of systemic flaws in the United States that must be addressed, including paid leave. While the nature of this medical crisis draws attention to the lack of paid sick leave, paid family leave is a benefit that should also […]
Women Face Food Insecurity in the Wake of Coronavirus Outbreak
Abby J. Liebman and Liza Lieberman are the President and CEO and Director of Public Policy at MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. Learn more about their important and vital work here. Many of us are stunned by the coronavirus outbreak, unsure exactly what to do or how to proceed. Should we stockpile food? Work […]
Fiscal Policies Can Increase Female Workforce Participation
Equitable workforce opportunities for women are beneficial to everyone, but research from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that female workforce participation still lags greatly behind that of men. Due to the stubborn persistence of gender gaps in wages and educational opportunities, the average female workforce participation rate is 20 percentage points behind the male […]
Trump’s New Budget Cuts Benefits for the Most Vulnerable
President Trump released a $44.8 trillion budget on Monday which includes deep cuts to student loan assistance, affordable housing, food stamps, and Medicaid. It does however include an increase in spending for the military, national defense, border enforcement, individual income tax cuts, and even allocates money for the “Space Force” initiative. The budget plans recommends […]
U.S. Healthcare Spending Exceeds Most Other Countries According to the OECD
In comparison to the twenty countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)- Australia, Chile, Germany, and France, just to name a few- the United States is grossly overspending on basic healthcare. While the median country in the OECD spends roughly nine percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on healthcare, […]
New Oxfam Study Shows Women’s Labor is Underpaid and Undervalued
A recent study by international nonprofit Oxfam shows that the state of global economic inequality is out of control. Oxfam highlights the severity of this inequality and the negative impacts it has on women by shining a light on the fact that: the world’s richest 22 men having a greater combined wealth than all of […]
Chloe McKenzie Wants to Close the Wealth Gap for Black Women
In 2015, Chloe McKenzie, a former JP Morgan investor, launched Black Fem – an organization “dedicated to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty”. The racial wealth gap is still steadily widening, according to studies done by Prosperity Now and the Institute for Policy Studies. When asked about why she wanted to start Black Fem, Ms. […]
WNBA and Players’ Union Propose Historic Collective Bargaining Agreement
In a time where female athletes across sports are speaking out against gender discrimination and pay inequalities, the WNBA has positioned itself as a leader by coming to a potential collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the players’ union that features salary increases, maternal and family leave benefits, and improved travel accommodations. This agreement takes steps […]
Nearly One Million Americans Will Lose Access to Food Stamps under New Trump Rule
Under a new rule enacted by the Trump administration, close to 700,000 people will lose SNAP benefits due to regulations that make it more difficult for states to waive the requirement that “able bodied” recipients work at least 20 hours a week. The rule will affect people aged 18-49 who do not have children and […]
Afghan Saffron in High Demand
In an attempt to replace opium cultivation in Afghanistan, the Afghan government has continued to increase its efforts to replace the deadly plant with saffron cultivation. Saffron cultivation began in Herat, in the western part of the country, and is now being grown in 33 provinces of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan. Farmers are being […]
