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Why observe Equal Pay Day, year after year, if it's such a bummer? Because the wage gap is a way of talking about the tangible consequences that sexism and racism in our economy have on women. And it touches so many women year after year, no matter their occupation, education level or age.

February 5th will mark the 29th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); legislation that the National Partnership was essential in passing in 1993 to ensure working people can take the time they need to care for themselves and their loved ones. Paid leave is fundamentally tied to other economic battles: equal pay and equitable healthcare to name a few. Build Back Better had the potential to ensure paid leave would be accessible to all. The momentum to support our labor force was there, yet partisanship and skepticism on the expenses of this type of program got in the way of providing paid leave for people that need it most.

Enacting a paid family and medical leave policy as part of the Build Back Better package is critical to closing the longstanding systemic inequities that impact women and people of color. 

Paid family and medical leave is an indispensable benefit that all working people need and deserve.

Black and brown people in D.C. have seen some of the worst racial disparities in COVID-19 deaths and vaccinations in the country. At the same time, the national economic fallout of the pandemic hit communities of color the hardest: people of color, particularly women, disproportionately worked in industries hit by pandemic-related closures, layoffs and reduced hours. And that is on top of the longstanding health and economic racial disparities that already existed before the pandemic.

As the United States sees an increase in COVID-19 cases across the country, millions of people are set to lose the critical benefits that Congress enacted — including emergency paid sick days and paid family leave. Three out of four rural voters support permanent legislation mandating paid sick and paid family leave programs.

Thanksgiving reminds us that, in the fight for paid family and medical leave, we must never lose sight of the diverse family relationships that are at the heart of our work.

New moms have all heard the advice: “breast is best.” While it’s true that breastfeeding facilitates bonding between mother and child, many new moms know that choosing to breastfeed can come with a host of challenges.

Domestic workers are undervalued, underpaid and, largely because of institutional racism and sexism, are unprotected by our nation's most basic federal employment laws. Members of Congress now have an opportunity to begin to correct past injustices by supporting and passing the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.

Today, working people and advocates for fairer workplaces are marking Implementation Day to celebrate the anniversaries of paid sick days and paid family and medical leave laws across the country.

Sunday is Father's Day. A day when dads everywhere will feel a sense of pride, get their 453rd pair of socks, and if they're like me, proudly tape an illegible Father’s Day card their daughter scribbled at preschool to their refrigerator.

As we fight for paid sick days and paid family and medical leave laws that allow people to maintain economic security while caring for their loved ones, it is critical that these laws allow time to care for a range of family members.

Eighty years ago today, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) – the cornerstone of labor protections for working people in the United States – was enacted. While its protections for working people remain in place today, so, unfortunately, do its exclusions, which disproportionately harm women and people of color.

Today’s dads aren’t the same as their own fathers. One indication of the change is the fact that fathers in the United States have nearly tripled the time they spend caring for children since 1965. But our paternity leave policies and the uptake of leave haven’t kept up with the change. It’s time to press the update button.

On International Women's Day, it is difficult to ignore the fact that the United States is an international outlier when it comes to paid leave.

As this wrap up shows, there is tremendous strength, diversity, passion and clout behind the vibrant movement to win paid family and medical leave for all.

Twenty-five years after we won a national unpaid leave law, it's time to finally win paid leave.

As part of SiX's 2018 #FightingForFamilies Week of Action, Vicki Shabo comments on the 25th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act and importance of a national paid leave plan that doesn't leave anyone behind.

Our country is in the midst of an extraordinary, long-overdue moment. In historic ways, women and our allies are coming together to demand change, and guaranteeing paid family and medical leave for all is essential to winning that fight.

With recent attention to the country’s dismal record of making paid leave available to workers, and growing consensus around the need for a national solution, it’s easy to forget the decades of work and milestone victories that have made this moment possible. One of the first happened 15 years ago this week, when California created the nation’s first state paid family leave program.