Table of Contents
Introduction
“This is the hardest thing that's happened to families in 80 or 90 years … Parents feel abandoned and desperately in trouble right now. Either because, in some cases they don't have enough to eat or they can't make rent, or they've had to cut back on work, or quit work entirely to do childcare, or because they're doing remote learning and it's not going well.” – Justin Ruben, co-founder of ParentsTogether
In 2020, COVID-19 exposed the bitter, everyday reality that families face – struggling to combine work and care – and exposed the U.S.’s threadbare care infrastructure and safety nets. Due to years of under-investment and political choices, this broken care system has taken a toll on individuals’ and families’ economic security, dealt a serious blow to the gains women have made and stalled progress toward gender equity. As the pandemic and economic downturn drag on and disruptions continue, even as vaccines are coming online, families urgently need robust financial relief and long-term investment in care.
The consequences of delaying effective policy solutions are pronounced: Since the onset of the global pandemic, job loss has predominantly affected women with care needs, and the number of residents now living in poverty since May has grown by 8 million. Moreover, schools and 40 percent of all childcare centers around the nation have temporarily or permanently closed, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color, particularly women, endure the worst of the fallout.
Within weeks of the start of the pandemic, the Better Life Lab at New America began hosting a weekly live and interactive podcast called Crisis Conversations to understand what was happening with people navigating failing work and care systems. Participants discussed what needs to change to create a better, fairer new normal once we emerge from the concurrent crises of a public health emergency, an economic downturn, political division, and a racial justice reckoning. We spoke to the people at the frontlines of the pandemic—professional caregivers, parents, and essential workers—to understand the policy interventions people need most. We’re sharing their stories to guide legislative actions, workplace practices, and broader culture changes. Without tangible solutions, millions of families will not only face a long and difficult recovery, accompanied by the potential setback of gender equity, but they will also surely face the next emergency—and there will be others—alone and unsupported, with a nation still unprepared.
New America’s Better Life Lab is pleased to offer the following ideas—drawn from the lives of people contending with a public health crisis and a financial downturn in the midst of the pandemic—for policymakers, public and private sector leaders, and community innovators to use in pursuit of work-family justice and equity across race, gender, and class.
Policy Priorities
- Guarantee Time to Care: Work-Family Justice for All People
- Build a Better Care Infrastructure: Support Family and Professional Caregivers
- Redesign Work for Remote and Essential Workers and Focus on Equity
To best address the policy recommendations offered, Better Life Lab encourages the appointment of a high-level point person or “czar” of care economy priorities as part of the National Economic Council at the White House to oversee the administration’s intergovernmental and interagency activities on the suite of issues focused on care and economic activity, including paid family and medical leave, childcare, and long-term care for older adults and people with disabilities.