Washington, D.C. – Today at 1:00 pm ET, the Center for Economic Opportunity at the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) will host a virtual policy discussion entitled: Back to School and Back to Work: Women in the Labor Force. Policy experts will discuss working mothers’ return to the workforce, COVID’s impact on preferences for and the availability of flexible work, and the policy implications of proposed workplace policies included in the $3.5 trillion Bernie-Biden Budget Bill.
Speakers include Rachel Greszler, senior research fellow, The Heritage Foundation; Karen Lips, president, Network of enlightened Women; Angela Rachidi, senior fellow and Rowe Scholar, American Enterprise Institute; and Patrice Onwuka, director, the Center of Economic Opportunity (CEO), IWF.
Patrice Onwuka, director of the CEO, released the following statement about this event:
“The data is clear: millions of women, especially mothers, left the labor force during the pandemic and did not return. With schools reopening in-person, the expectation is that women will return to work, but the jury is out on whether that will happen en masse. The narrative has been that women are burdened by caregiving and that their household responsibilities prevent them from obtaining employment. Policymakers want to justify massive government spending on paid maternity and family leave, childcare subsidies, and universal Pre-K as necessary to nudge women back into the labor force.
“It’s time to change the narrative. Many women are reassessing what is most important and fulfilling to them. That may not be a fulltime or a traditional 9-to-5 job. This panel will examine why women have stayed out of the workforce as well as if the government should use taxpayer dollars to lure them back to work.”
The event will broadcast live on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and on IWF’s website.
Media Contact:Meghan Agostinelli
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