Over the course of the past half-century, the American family has undergone cataclysmic change, due chiefly to the movement of women from the home to the paid workforce. And yet our society consistently fails to adapt to the heightened demands placed upon its families. Despite robust public support for work-family policies and legislative action in some states and cities, progress on national family policy has been remarkably limited.
The Center for American Progress’s forthcoming report, “Lessons Learned: Reflections on Four Decades of Fighting for Families,” examines this history and asks some important questions: Why is change so slow and paltry? Why is there such a gap between public opinion and political will? And why—on the other hand—has it been possible in some places to achieve positive change?
Please join the Center for American Progress Action Fund for a keynote address from Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) followed by a panel discussion moderated by the report’s author, Judith Warner. The discussion will explore how changing public policy to support America’s families is viable, doable, and already beginning to happen.
Introductory remarks:
Neera Tanden, President, Center for American Progress, and Counselor to the Center for American Progress Action Fund
Keynote speaker:
Congresswomen Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
Featured panelists:
Netsy Firestein, Executive Director, Labor Project for Working Families
Bethany Robertson, President, American Parents Associations
Kimberly Morgan, Associate Professor of Political Science at George Washington University
Jocelyn Frye, former Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Director of Policy and Special Projects for the First Lady
Moderated by:
Judith Warner, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress