The Women’s Initiative develops robust, progressive policies and solutions to ensure all women can participate in the economy and live healthy, productive lives.
A woman introduces her newborn baby to her grandmother, November 2020, in Los Angeles. (Getty/Brandon Bell)
What We're Doing
Advancing a proactive abortion agenda
Abortion rights are under attack. Our proactive agenda provides a road map for state and federal lawmakers to develop and enact policies that ensure equitable, safe access to abortion. In coalition, we will push back against restrictions that impede access to this critical health care service.
Addressing the maternal health crisis
People are more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes in the United States than in any other high-income country. Working closely with partners, we develop policy interventions to curb the maternal health crisis, eliminate racial disparities, and advance investments in maternal health care.
Closing the gender wage gap
To address pay disparities, especially for women of color, our comprehensive work advocates for measures such as the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA). The PFA would strengthen equal pay protections, prohibit employer retaliation, and limit employers’ reliance on salary history to make hiring decisions.
Building a stronger economy by prioritizing women
Women are crucial to a thriving economy and families’ economic stability and must be at the heart of any economic recovery. We research solutions that maximize women’s economic participation and respond to competing demands of work and family, such as a national paid family and medical leave program.
Ensuring Equal Pay for Black Women is Not Just About Work—It’s Also About Family
Jocelyn Frye
Sign Our Letter: Ensure Meaningful Abortion Access for All
As anti-abortion state legislators attack access to abortion, we must expand and strengthen reproductive health and family planning protections in states where abortion is legal.
The Women’s Initiative works to secure women’s health and bodily autonomy, economic stability, equality, and access to equitable opportunities and uphold other reproductive, civil, and human rights. We firmly believe that the diverse experiences of women across race, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, faith backgrounds, and other factors—and the challenges they face—must be at the center of the national policy debate.
Advancing Access to Contraception in States Through Quality Measures and Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling
The fourth and final report in this Center for American Progress series highlighting best practices to improve and expand access to contraception at the state level focuses on the importance of contraceptive quality measures.
This primer provides resources and information on harmful and protective abortion legislation, as well as other laws restricting reproductive rights, advancing across the states.
Medication Abortion and the Politicalization of Drug Safety: The Impact of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA
Please join the Center for American Progress for a virtual panel discussion on the importance of medication abortion and taking politics out of drug safety.
Texas ruling could not only harm women, but also the legitimacy of the judicial branch
Maggie Jo Buchanan addresses the dangerous impacts the decision in Alliance of Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration could have on drug safety in the United States.
Advancing Access to Contraception Through Section 1115 Medicaid Waivers and State Plan Amendments
The third report in this Center for American Progress series explores how states can pursue family planning options through Medicaid to expand access to contraception and other vital reproductive health services.
Quick Facts About State Salary Range Transparency Laws
Over the past few years, an increasing number of states have passed, or are considering passing, salary range transparency laws as one measure to help close the gender pay gap.
In order to better support all workers—especially LGBTQI+ workers—policymakers must design paid leave policies that are inclusive of chosen family and reflect the diverse caregiving needs of people across the country.
Fact Sheet: Advancing Contraceptive Access in the States Through Quality Measures and Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling
This fact sheet accompanies a new Center for American Progress report on best practices to expand and improve access to contraception at the state level, covering common implementation challenges and offering recommendations for implementing contraceptive quality measures.
Fact Sheet: Challenges and Solutions to Improve Access to Contraception Through Section 1115 Medicaid Waivers and SPAs
This fact sheet accompanies a new Center for American Progress report on best practices to expand and improve access to contraception at the state level, covering common implementation challenges and offering recommendations to states pursuing family planning expansions through Section 1115 Medicaid waivers and state plan amendments (SPAs).
Fact Sheet: The State of Women in the Labor Market in 2023
Thanks to the strong economic recovery, women’s labor force participation is reaching new highs, with prime-age women’s employment back to pre-pandemic levels—although long-standing pay gaps and occupational segregation remain challenges.
