“The jobs report released this week was further evidence that women of color are bearing the brunt of the economic devastation the pandemic has brought. Some 82,000 Black women and 31,000 Latinas lost their jobs in December and there are indications that white women made gains. Many more women and moms were forced to leave the labor force in the face of virtual schooling, dwindling child care options, and our nation’s lack of paid sick days and paid family leave. Overall, there are nearly 2.1 million fewer women in our country’s workforce today than were in it before the pandemic began, and even more women and women of color working part-time because they cannot find full-time jobs. Our economy will never thrive if women are not fully represented in the workforce.

“Many experts attributed women’s job losses to our concentration in the hospitality, retail and education sectors but the truth is, deeply embedded systemic racism is what forces women into low-wage jobs that offer few, if any benefits and little job security. That must end.

Building back better must include ensuring that moms, women, and in particular women of color have access to jobs that pay a living wage and offer good benefits and reasonable opportunities to advance.

"Unless we do, our economy and our country will never thrive.”

-Statement of Ruth Martin, Vice President and Chief Workplace Justice Officer, MomsRising

“From last week’s seditious attack at the U.S. Capitol to Monday’s jobs report, it is clear that our country is utterly failing to address the systemic racism and bias that have persisted for centuries – and have flourished since Donald Trump took office and began implementing his white supremacist agenda. We saw raw displays of white supremacy brandished by the violent mob that attacked our country’s Capitol last week, carrying confederate flags and wearing clothing bearing repugnant racist, white supremacist, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, and other offensive language.

“The kind of racism that drove that mob and resulted in pro-Trump insurrectionists breaching the Capitol is also embedded in more subtle, less violent but no less harmful forms throughout our society. Its impact on our economy, our jobs, our pervasive pay discrimination, our schools, our criminal justice system, our policing, and the social fabric of our country is corrosive. MomsRising will continue to follow the mandate from our members to fight for meaningful reform across our society, including in policing. Moms are ready for a real reckoning and the urgent, vitally important reform that will finally make America the fair, just place we aspire to be.”

-Statement of Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO, MomsRising