Women’s History Month
Advocate for a Marshall Plan for Working Women!!
..nevertheless she persisted
It is no secret that women have been the hardest hit by the COVID 19 pandemic. During the pandemic,
women have disproportionately been responsible for keeping their families safe, while juggling work
schedules, fulltime childcare, and home schooling. Many women have reached their breaking point.
Since the pandemic started, more than 2 million women have dropped out of the labor force - a rate
four times that of men. Many more have cut back on their work hours. By some estimates, women’s
labor force participation is now no better than it was twenty years ago. When women earn less, a
family’s standard of living declines, family savings disappear, and a women’s future retirement income
drops.
We need policies that support working women and their families like other industrialized countries. We
also need policies that will help women re-enter the workforce after this pandemic ends - policies like
paid family leave, affordable childcare, and pay equity - all long standing priorities of our Women’s
Democratic Club.
Below are three actions you can take right now! Let’s all honor the women who came before us and fought so hard for our rights, by fighting for women’s economic rights today.
1. In January, fifty prominent women signed an open letter to President Biden calling for a Marshall
Plan for Moms. Many prominent men joined them. Some of the plan’s elements are included in
President Biden’s COVID relief bill, but longer-term solutions are needed. You can read about this call for
a Marshall Plan and sign the Marshall Plan for Moms petition here.
2. Congresswoman Grace Meng (NY) has introduced H.Res. 121 and Senators Amy Klobucher (MN) and
Tammy Duckworth (IL) have introduced S.Res. 87 Marshall Plan for Moms. These Resolutions call on
the United States to implement a Marshall Plan for Moms to revitalize and restore mothers to the
workforce, that includes passing legislation that establishes paid family leave, rebuilds the childcare
industry, ends child poverty and hunger, invests in quality education, increases the minimum wage to
$15/hour, and provides access to mental health support for mothers. None of our Montgomery County
Congressmen or Senators have co-sponsored these Resolutions.
Email Senator Van Hollen and thank him for his support:
Senator Chris Van Hollen: https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/contact/email
Email Senator Cardin and ask him to add his name as a co-sponsor of S.Res. 87 Marshall Plan for Moms.
Senator Ben Cardin: https://www.cardin.senate.gov/contact/
Email your Congressman and ask him to add his name as a co-sponsor of H.Res. 121 Marshall Plan for Moms.
Congressman David Trone: https://trone.house.gov/contact
Congressman Jamie Raskin: https://raskin.house.gov/contact/email
Congressman John Sarbanes: https://sarbanes.house.gov/contact
3. At the State level, an important bill - the Time to Care Act -- (HB0375 and SB0211) – is being considered by the applicable House and Senate Committees. The Time to Care Act will establish an insurance fund pool to provide up to twelve weeks of paid leave to an individual who is taking leave to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, a family member with a serious health condition, themselves if they have a serious health condition, or a military service member who is next-of-kin or has a specified need because of the military deployment of a family member. WDC has already submitted testimony, but it is not too late to make your voice heard and urge a favorable vote for the Time to Care Act bills. For Committee contact information, click here.
WDC Advocacy Alert HB0375 & WDC Advocacy Alert SB0211