Resources

FACT SHEET | Overall, women in the United States are paid 82 cents for every dollar paid to men. When women lose income, their economic security and that of their families is diminished. (March 2021)

FACT SHEET | Women of color in the United States experience the nation's persistent and pervasive gender wage gap most severely. U.S. Census Bureau data reveal the size of that gap by race. (March 2021)

FACT SHEET | A look at what the wage gap means for Black women, especially in the 25 states with the largest populations of employed Black women.

FACT SHEET | A look at the wage gap for Asian American and Pacific Islander women by ethnic subgroup, and what that gap means for them and their families.

The Great Resignation Shows Great Need for Paid Leave

Getting Started Toolkit for Patient and Family Engagement: Improving Health and Advancing Equity

Report on Patient and Family Engagement: Improving Health and Advancing Equity

Myth Busters Shared Decision-Making

Trust Is a 2-Way Street: Fostering Trust in Patient-Provider Relationships

Virtual Visits: 5 Ways to Better Engage Patients & Families

Recommendations for Patient and Family Engagement: Improving Health and Advancing Equity

The Build Back Better Act would provide up to four weeks of paid family and medical leave for working people who time away from work to welcome a new child, address their own serious health condition or care for a loved one with a serious health condition. The paid leave program would replace income on a sliding scale, with the lowest-paid workers receiving up to about 90 percent of their usual wages, and a typical full-time worker receiving about two-thirds.

CHART | A detailed summary of existing family leave laws in California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington, New York, D.C., Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon and Colorado

Universal paid family and medical leave is critical to American families’ financial security, especially for low-income women and workers of color. Establishing national paid leave by passing the Build Back Better Act would provide this vital benefit to the 77 percent of workers who don’t have paid family leave, and the 60 percent of workers without paid medical leave.

Due to the lack of paid family and medical leave in the United States, many people — predominantly women — are forced to choose between caregiving and their job.

Paid family and medical leave is a crucial component to the success of the Build Back Better Plan because it is known and overwhelmingly popular and frames this as the American Family Plan. Paid leave is one of the best-known elements of the Plan, and it is well-liked.

Universal paid family and medical leave is critical to American families’ financial security, especially for low-income women and workers of color. Establishing national paid leave by passing the Build Back Better Act would provide this vital benefit to the 77 percent of workers who don’t have paid family leave, and the 60 percent of workers without paid medical leave.

Nationally, 16.5 percent of full-time, year-round workers have earnings of $100,000 or more – an estimated 19.2 million people. Due to the gender wage gap, men are more likely than women to have earnings above this threshold: 20.6 percent of men (13.5 million) working full-time, year-round are paid $100,000 or more, compared to 11.2 percent of women (5.6 million).

It is more apparent than ever. The lack of a national paid family and medical leave policy in the United States costs working people their health and financial security – and the price tag is rising.