There are now 3.7 million fewer women working than there were in February 2020, in large part because of the pandemic, eroding more than 30 years of progress in women’s labor force participation. Even more women have reduced their hours. Many others have managed precarious job conditions and additional caregiving responsibilities, threatening economic security for them and their families and unmasking the fragility of our caregiving infrastructure. Our economic recovery depends on addressing longstanding discrimination and barriers that have hampered women—particularly women of color—from fully participating in the labor force. The resulting gender and racial income and wealth gaps have only been magnified and exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19.
President Biden’s American Jobs Plan is an historic public investment that will create millions of good jobs, rebuild our country’s infrastructure and strengthen economic competitiveness– including by modernizing schools and upgrading child care centers; creating good-paying, quality jobs; investing in a robust care infrastructure, a cornerstone of a resilient and sustainable economy; and developing the workforce and new career pathways which will strengthen the pipeline for more women and communities of color. This includes ensuring jobs with fair and equal pay, safe and healthy workplaces, and workplaces free from racial, gender, and other forms of discrimination and harassment.
Specifically, President Biden’s American Jobs Plan will:
Modernize our nation’s schools and child care facilities. The President’s plan invests $100 billion to upgrade and build new public schools, through $50 billion in direct grants and an additional $50 billion leveraged through bonds. These funds will first go toward making sure our schools are safe and healthy places of learning for our kids and workplaces for teachers and other education professionals, for example by improving indoor air quality and ventilation. Too many students attend schools and child care centers that are run-down, unsafe, and pose health risks. These conditions are dangerous for our kids and exist disproportionately in schools with a high percentage of low-income students and students of color. And even before COVID-19, 43% of parents reported struggling to find an adequate child care facility for their children. President Biden believes we can’t close the opportunity gap if low-income kids go to schools in buildings that undermine health and safety, while wealthier students get access to safe buildings with labs and technology that prepare them for the jobs of the future.
Upgrade child care facilities and build new supply in high need areas. Lack of access to child care makes it harder for parents to fully participate in the workforce, which still tends to have a disproportionate impact on mothers. These investments will provide safe, accessible, energy efficient, high-quality learning environments for providers to teach and care for children. Public investments in schools and childcare improve children’s outcomes—the foundation for future productivity gains.
Fix highways, rebuild bridges, upgrade ports, airports and transit systems. President Biden’s plan increases resilience in the most essential services, including the electric grid, food systems, urban infrastructure, community health and hospitals, and our roads, rail, and other transportation assets.
Eliminate all lead pipes across the nation to safeguard the health and safety of families of color. President Biden’s plan will eliminate all lead pipes and service lines in our drinking water systems, improving the health of our country’s children, especially in communities of color. This investment will also reduce lead exposure in 400,000 schools and childcare facilities.
Bridge the digital divide by achieving 100 percent coverage of high-speed broadband. Black and Latino families are less likely to be able to access home broadband internet than White families, compounding systemic barriers to opportunity and economic equality. The last year made painfully clear the cost of these disparities, particularly for students who struggled to connect while learning remotely, compounding learning loss and social isolation for those students.