The passage of the bill also heralds the beginning of an era in which Congress recognizes that women’s issues are America’s problems and that women’s success is America’s success. Most importantly, it is a recognition that our country will never reach its full potential if women, and especially women of color, continue to be devalued, underpaid, and left behind.
We are tired of economic frameworks that abandon women and families. We are made with the invisible policies of the unpaid and paid middle labor of the women and childcare workers that make our country run. Just building bridges and trains doesn’t quite get America back to work as we don’t build the care infrastructure that allows bridge builders to get to work, including childcare, in-home services and community-based leave as well as paid family and medical leave.
The Better Rebuilding Act, which helped create this care infrastructure, must pass the Senate now – intact – and without delay.
Passing the bill would be a pledge to the women who have supported us through the pandemic, doing the essential jobs we all depended on when the shelter-in-place order went into effect. This will be a commitment to women at the forefront of healthcare, as their work puts them at risk of exposure to the coronavirus and passing it on to their loved ones. And this will be a pledge for women taking on care-giving roles in the home as schools close and nursing homes are evacuated.
The House passage of the Better Rebuild bill follows a historic first year for women in US politics.
However, as we track the historic advances made by women in power, we cannot escape the continuing reality of severe inequality against women in our economy. we.
If we want to rebuild our economy, we must invest in women and families. If we want women to return to the workforce, we must make child care family-friendly, as well as expand home and community care for people with disabilities and disabilities. older people so that family caregivers can do the jobs they need to support their families. . If we want businesses to get the workers they need, we must invest in paid family and leave and extend the child tax credit. If we want to invest in physical infrastructure, we must invest in infrastructure that takes care of protecting every aspect of our society and economy.
If we are a nation that wants to succeed, we cannot leave half of our country behind.
The historic achievements of women in our government must not be isolated from the chambers of Congress or the White House – they must reach every home and workplace in the country. The working women of this country fought for this Congress; It’s time for this Congress, especially the Senate right now, to fight for them.
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