New efforts to bolster state and local momentum for a national paid leave win
WASHINGTON, DC – Paid Leave for All, the national campaign of organizations fighting for a federal paid family and medical leave policy, has announced plans to expand their work in the year ahead. They are kicking off a fundraising drive and public awareness campaign on their fifth anniversary this month to continue to drive toward local, state, and federal wins. This comes on the heels of continued—and bipartisan—progress, including paid sick leave ballots in Alaska, Missouri, and Nebraska, and new policy announcements from the bipartisan working group in Congress.
As part of the work to expand women’s power and influence, Pivotal, a network of organizations founded by Melinda French Gates, has announced additional support for Paid Leave for All as the campaign continues its work to advance federal policies. Through high-impact investments, philanthropy, partnerships, and advocacy, Pivotal seeks to remove the barriers that hold women—and all people—back. Pivotal is one of the original funders of Paid Leave for All and remains committed to making progress toward passing paid leave for all working people.
“We have seen large gains in women’s power and influence in the workplace, still, our research shows that women are more likely to face barriers, like the lack of paid leave, that affect their ability to advance in their careers,” said Renee Wittemyer, Vice President of Program Strategy at Pivotal. “We are thrilled to continue to fund organizations like Paid Leave for All that are helping to elevate the need for public policies that enable women to thrive at work.”
Paid leave is politically powerful across demographic groups and party lines, and also has been shown to be highly effective economic policy where it has been implemented at the state level. In addition, a recent Department of Labor/Urban Institute study found that paid leave policies can pull families out of poverty.
“Paid leave is a proven policy that will have immediate impact for families struggling to make ends meet,” said Dawn Huckelbridge, founding Director of Paid Leave for All. “As a campaign, together, we have made more progress in the five years since our founding than in the decades before, and we are committed to finishing our mission. Paid leave is a tool for our well-being and financial security—and a clear demonstration of how government works to make working families’ lives better. It’s a message and a policy that resonates with nearly all working people and voters and has bipartisan support in Congress. We will be spending the next year telling that story across the country and seizing opportunities to build toward the strong national policy our families and economy need.”