Women’s Economic Security

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The 2024 LGBTQI+ Wage Gap Article
A biker rides along “Rainbow Road,” a painted street mural in Washington, D.C.

The 2024 LGBTQI+ Wage Gap

In recognition of LGBTQIA+ Equal Pay Awareness Day, new analysis from the Center for American Progress’ LGBTQI+ Community Survey shows that in 2024, LGBTQI+ households made just 85 cents for every dollar earned by non-LGBTQI+ households, equaling about $12,600 less per year.

Sara Estep, Haley Norris

Sisters in Survival: Stories of the Trump Administration’s Assault on Women’s Rights, Lives, and Liberties Past Event

Sisters in Survival: Stories of the Trump Administration’s Assault on Women’s Rights, Lives, and Liberties

Please join the Center for American Progress for the next in a series of virtual events highlighting the impact that DOGE’s cuts are having on the lives of everyday Americans; this event will feature the stories of American women from across industries, states, and experiences as they navigate the fallout of the Trump administration’s actions, choices, appointments, and policies that are harming women.

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Why Trump’s Pronatalist Agenda Is Actually Anti-Motherhood In the News

Why Trump’s Pronatalist Agenda Is Actually Anti-Motherhood

In an op-ed for Ms. Magazine, Sara Estep discusses how President Trump and Vice President Vance’s pronatalist agenda is actually at odds with what mothers and their families need to thrive.

Ms. Magazine

Sara Estep

Breadwinning Women Are a Lifeline for Their Families and the Economy Report
A woman walks with her children, February 24, 2025.

Breadwinning Women Are a Lifeline for Their Families and the Economy

A new Center for American Progress analysis shows that large shares of working women—both mothers and married women without cohabitating children—continue to be breadwinners for their families. Policy must support working women to uplift families and the economy overall.

Kennedy Andara, Sara Estep, Isabela Salas-Betsch

5 Facts About the Labor Market Experiences of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Women Article
Cashier hands out grocery bags

5 Facts About the Labor Market Experiences of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Women

Analysis from the Center for American Progress and the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum finds that AANHPI women, who are often immigrants, have a broad range of intersecting identities that make their labor market experiences unique. Breaking down these aggregates helps break down racial stereotypes too.

The ERA Solidifies Women’s Rights in the Constitution as the 28th Amendment Article
A large crowd of women cheers a speaker at the Lincoln Memorial, during a rally for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.

The ERA Solidifies Women’s Rights in the Constitution as the 28th Amendment

The federal government has finally recognized the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ushering in a whole new era for gender parity in this country.

Kate Kelly

How Attorneys Can Support The ERA’s Implementation In the News

How Attorneys Can Support The ERA’s Implementation

In an op-ed published by Law360, Kate Kelly writes about the Equal Rights Amendment and how attorneys can help support it.

Law360

Kate Kelly

What You Should Know About the 2023 Gender Wage Gap Report
A woman about to open her front door

What You Should Know About the 2023 Gender Wage Gap

For the first time in two decades, the gender wage gap widened significantly in 2023—and between 2022 and 2023, the wage gap increased by 1 cent for women working full time, year round, to an average of 83 cents for every dollar men made.

Amina Khalique

What Comes Next for the Equal Rights Amendment? Report
Photo shows a closeup of a green sign with the phrase

What Comes Next for the Equal Rights Amendment?

Three-fourths of U.S. states have ratified the amendment, and many argue it is the 28th Amendment to the Constitution; Women’s Equality Day serves as a reminder of the amendment’s importance.

Isabela Salas-Betsch, Kate Kelly

The Economic Status of Single Mothers Report
A mother carrying her baby in a baby carrier and holding an umbrella is seen crossing the street.

The Economic Status of Single Mothers

Original Center for American Progress analysis shows that single mothers in the United States face economic insecurity, including high poverty rates and low incomes, that could be alleviated by strengthening the social safety net and advancing policies to support women in the workforce.

Isabela Salas-Betsch

The State of Safe Leave Report
Close-up through Capitol window

The State of Safe Leave

U.S. states are increasingly providing safe leave for workers who need time off to deal with the impacts of sexual and domestic violence.

Fact Sheet: Building an Economy That Delivers for Women Fact Sheet
A woman pushing a stroller walks through an atrium with light pouring in and a small pool reflecting plant life

Fact Sheet: Building an Economy That Delivers for Women

This fact sheet offers a brief summary of CAP’s “Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy,” which provides federal and state policymakers with the tools they need to center women in their economic plans and grow the economy.

Rose Khattar

Rewriting the Playbook: How Women Are Powering the Economy Past Event

Rewriting the Playbook: How Women Are Powering the Economy

Please Join the Center for American Progress for the launch of the "Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy."

1333 H St NW, Washington, DC

Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy Report

Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy

This collection of policy recommendations reveals how policymakers can grow the economy by centering the changes that women need in their economic platforms.

Rose Khattar, Sara Estep

5 Key Economic Indicators Ahead of the State of the Union Article
A man walks past a store window with a sign reading

5 Key Economic Indicators Ahead of the State of the Union

In 2023, the U.S. economy once again proved its strength and resilience, creating a strong foundation for the year ahead.

Rose Khattar, David Ballard, Jessica Vela

Disabled Workers Saw Record Employment Gains in 2023, But Gaps Remain Article
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics building

Disabled Workers Saw Record Employment Gains in 2023, But Gaps Remain

New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that in 2023, disabled people made record-breaking employment gains in a tight labor market; policymakers, however, must do more to close persistent gaps.

Kennedy Andara, Anona Neal, Rose Khattar

Why Self-Employed Workers Need Paid Leave Report
Capitol dome at sunrise, seen through chain-link fencing

Why Self-Employed Workers Need Paid Leave

For many self-employed Americans, the cost of taking leave for illness or family needs is too high without support, shaping both what self-employment looks like and who has access to it.

5 Facts From the 2022 Wage Gap Data Article
Photo shows a well-lit open kitchen area with chefs preparing food behind the counter and a server picking up plates

5 Facts From the 2022 Wage Gap Data

New data show that in 2022, women working full time, year-round typically earned 84 cents for every dollar men made, and when comparing among all workers, including those who work part time and for part of the year, women typically made 78 cents.

Isabela Salas-Betsch

Will AI Benefit or Harm Workers? Article
President Joe Biden sits with a panel before a banner that reads,

Will AI Benefit or Harm Workers?

The Biden administration and Congress must adopt a worker-centered approach in its response to the development and use of artificial intelligence.

Rose Khattar

Women’s Financial Well-Being in 2022 Article
Close-up of Federal Reserve building

Women’s Financial Well-Being in 2022

Disaggregating new Federal Reserve data by gender shows that women were less likely than men to be financially secure in 2022, and that women of color were particularly at risk.

Sara Estep

Barbie and the Gender Wage Gap Video

Barbie and the Gender Wage Gap

Despite decades of efforts to boost women’s representation throughout the U.S. economy, women still face a pay gap in nearly every single occupation—even high-paying ones.

Sara Estep, Rose Khattar, Charlie Schuyler, 3 More Hai-Lam Phan, Matthew Gossage, Toni Pandolfo

How Bidenomics Is Delivering for Women In the News

How Bidenomics Is Delivering for Women

In The Messenger, Rose Khattar and Sara Estep make the case for how the Biden administration's plan to grow the economy by growing the middle class is helping more women find jobs.

The Messenger

Rose Khattar, Sara Estep

Why Federal Pay Data Collection Is Critical to Equity Article
Advocates demand fair wages on International Women’s Day.

Why Federal Pay Data Collection Is Critical to Equity

Kalpana Kotagal’s confirmation to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission offers promise for the reinstatement of federal pay data collection, a critical pay equity tool discontinued in 2019.

Isabela Salas-Betsch, Lauren Hoffman

Shining a Light on Older Women Past Event

Shining a Light on Older Women

Please join the Center for American Progress to discuss the multitude of issues faced by older women and to explore solutions to improve their lives.

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Five Facts on Older Women in the Labor Market Fact Sheet
Image showing a female grocery store employee putting pre-cut fruit onto a shelf.

Five Facts on Older Women in the Labor Market

Older women have made significant recoveries from their disproportionate labor force declines due to the pandemic and will become a larger share of the labor force in the coming decade, but there are many women in this age group who face barriers to enter and stay in the labor force.

Beth Almeida, Sara Estep

Universal Paid Sick Time Would Strengthen Public Health and Benefit Businesses Report
Image showing a mother wearing a visor as she holds a child, who has a face mask on.

Universal Paid Sick Time Would Strengthen Public Health and Benefit Businesses

A national, guaranteed right to paid sick time is essential for the well-being of workers and their families and would have profound positive impacts on public health and businesses.

Isabela Salas-Betsch

Biden’s job creation efforts are helping women get higher pay and better work In the News

Biden’s job creation efforts are helping women get higher pay and better work

Rose Khattar and Lauren Hoffman explain how President Biden’s historic economic investments offer an opportunity to bring women more good-paying jobs in fields where they have been underrepresented.

MarketWatch

Rose Khattar, Lauren Hoffman

Advancing Access to Contraception in States Through Quality Measures and Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling Report
In a close-up shot, a nurse's gloved hands hold a single-use needle to implant the birth control device in the patient's prepped arm.

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.

Kierra B. Jones

Quick Facts About State Salary Range Transparency Laws Article
Wide shot of people at job fair

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.

Becca Damante, Lauren Hoffman, Rose Khattar

How historic infrastructure investments can benefit women workers In the News

How historic infrastructure investments can benefit women workers

Karla Walter partnered with Sharita Gruberg to break down the potential long-lasting benefits for women in manufacturing due to President Joe Biden's historic economic legislation.

The Hill

Sharita Gruberg, Karla Walter

State Momentum for Paid Leave Past Event

State Momentum for Paid Leave

Please join the Center for American Progress and the National Partnership for Women & Families to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act and to discuss momentum for paid leave at the state level.

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State and Local Leaders Summit Past Event
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES - 2018/12/21: Pattern on an old metallic bridge seen on a rural road in the State of Georgia, United States. The built structure is painted in green. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)

State and Local Leaders Summit

Governors and mayors will have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform their economies in the months and years ahead.

Fact Sheet: The State of Women in the Labor Market in 2023 Fact Sheet
Photo shows a woman in a black uniform sweeping the floor under a booth table in a restaurant.

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.

Beth Almeida, Isabela Salas-Betsch

5 Facts About the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act Article
Photo shows a woman bottle-feeding her baby in a baby carrier on the table.

5 Facts About the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act

The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act provides critical protections for women who choose to breastfeed in the workplace and expands protections in the 2010 Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act.

Becca Damante

7 Facts on Racial Equity and the Economic Recovery Article
A girl rides on her father's shoulders through the Orange County Fair against a green, leafy backdrop.

7 Facts on Racial Equity and the Economic Recovery

The economic recovery has supported workers of color, but inequities persist, and the Federal Reserve risks undoing the equitable economic gains achieved.

Justin Dorazio

Related Priorities

Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice
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Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice

We pursue climate action that meets the crisis’s urgency, creates good-quality jobs, benefits disadvantaged communities, and restores U.S. credibility on the global stage.

Restoring Social Trust in Democracy
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Restoring Social Trust in Democracy

Democracy is under attack at home and abroad. We must act to ensure it is accessible to all, accountable, and can serve as a force of good.

Building an Economy for All
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Building an Economy for All

Economic growth must be built on the foundation of a strong and secure middle class so that all Americans benefit from growth.

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