With unprecedented influence over an election, African American women and Hispanic women say economic security on par with key race and gender issues
Las Vegas, NV — African American women and Hispanic women in the state of Nevada will be the deciding factor in the upcoming elections, making issues facing their families a key focus for all candidates. On behalf of the Center for American Progress, Latino Decisions interviewed 400 African American and Hispanic women voters in Nevada and found that economic issues, often together with barriers related to race and ethnicity, are front and center as these voters think about the coming elections. An overwhelming majority—91 percent of African American women and 85 percent of Hispanic women voters in Nevada—would like to see the next president focus on improving the nation’s economic well-being and view the well-being of working families as a top priority, underscoring that a range of issues will be important in engaging with these communities this year.
“For Nevada working families, equal pay is a key piece of the puzzle, along with paid family leave, paid sick days, and child care, all of which are policies that parents, especially women, need to make it work,” said Erika Washington, Nevada state director for Make it Work. “Candidates must prioritize family economic issues and have concrete plans to address the economic challenges of all working families.”
The survey also finds that working African American and Hispanic women in Nevada are facing significant amounts of work-related hardship, and they are in favor of policies that would address the economic challenges they face.
Key findings include:
- Eighty percent of African American women and 75 percent of Hispanic women voters in Nevada are willing to support a candidate who supports policies that working families need.
- More than 6 in 10 African American women and Hispanic women report difficulty at work as a result of a lack of reliable child care. In fact, a majority of both African American women and Hispanic women report that “reliable child care when you need it;” “high-quality, in-home child care;” “high-quality child care centers in your neighborhood or near work;” and “affordable child care” are “out of reach” for them.
- Low pay is an obstacle confronting a large majority of African American women—67 percent—and Hispanic women—58 percent.
“Women in Nevada, especially women of color, know how much family working policies will benefit their daily lives, which is why we continue to see strong support of them,” said Shilpa Phadke, Senior Director of the Women’s Initiative Program at CAP. “There is too much at stake to continue failing to advance these critical policies. We urge all candidates to have concrete plans to address economic security.”
While issues such as equal pay, paid sick leave, and affordable child care receive broad support among many groups, African American women black and Hispanic women in Nevada overwhelmingly see how these policies would help them and their families. These issues would be key in addressing many of the economic security challenges facing these women and their families and include the following findings:
- Eighty-two percent of African American women and 69 percent of Hispanic women favor that the government should be doing more—not less—to enact policies such as equal pay, paid sick days, paid family and medical leave, and affordable child care into law.
- Forty-six percent of both African American women and Hispanic women voters agree that child care workers are not paid enough for the work they do.
- More than three-quarters of African American women and more than 70 percent of Hispanic women in the state believe they would be helped by policies that “require employers to allow all workers to earn up to seven paid sick days a year, either for personal illness or to care for a sick family member.”
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Jennifer Molina at [email protected] or 202.478.5328.
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