Women’s Rights
Biden’s Agenda for Women
Courtesy of the Biden-Harris campaign
Joe Biden has constructed a proactive “Agenda for Women'' that he will begin implementing on day one of his Presidency. Joe Biden knows that every policy in the country is a woman’s issue, but some disproportionately affect women – especially women of color. This is seen from the boardroom to the hospital room, from childhood to adulthood.
Biden’s agenda will further gender equality by improving economic security, expanding access to health care and tackling health inequities, helping women navigate work and families, and ending violence against women.
Improve Economic Security
In the United States, women only earn up to 82 cents on every dollar earned by men and only own 32 cents of wealth on the dollar in contrast to men. According to Lean In, the pay gap is typically worse for women of color.
➪ Compared to every $1.00 earned by a man, Asian women are paid $0.90 (10%) less; white women are paid $0.79 (21%) less; Black women are paid $0.62 (38%) less; Native American women are paid $0.57 (43%) less and Latina women are paid $0.55 (45%) less.
Get the Facts About the Gender Pay Gap. (n.d.). Retrieved 2020 October, from Lean In: https://leanin.org/equal-pay-data-about-the-gender-pay-gap
These disparities in pay and accumulated wealth start early and have long-term implications for women. Lean In has also found that “women are better educated but undervalued” and that their increased educational attainment has not dismantled the pay gap and that “the pay gap actually increases for women at higher education levels.” Of the country’s $1.54 trillion in student loan debt, women, especially Black women, hold two-thirds of that debt – almost $929 billion. Continued disparities in pay and wealth reinforce inequalities in our society.
Biden will fight for equal pay by giving workers more authority to challenge discriminatory pay practices and by holding employers accountable. Employers will be held responsible for gender-based pay gaps and would be subject to anti-discrimination investigations and enforcement measures, such as financial penalties. Biden believes that salary transparency is an essential component in the fight for gender pay parity.
Currently, many states do not offer equal pay and pay transparency protections, which means workers often cannot discuss their current wage rate without fear of retaliation from their employer. Biden will support and build upon gender pay parity legislation, like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and Paycheck Fairness Act, to encourage/require companies to disclose compensations, which will provide better insight into pay disparities. Biden’s gender pay parity legislation will also focus on creating added protections for salary and wage negotiations.
The Biden Administration believes in unions and knows their benefits to the country and workers. Women in unions earn 23% more than non-unionized women. Biden will make it easier for women – and all workers – to unionize and keep them protected under the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.
Women, especially women of color, face high rates of daily discrimination in the workplace, often going far beyond pay, including the lack of accommodations for expecting and new parents to sexual harassment from peers. Following the lead of more than two dozen states and supporting the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Joe Biden aims to end discrimination against pregnant and nursing workers so they are not required to pick between their work and their health.
He also will make it easier to report harassment in the workplace. Tens of millions of workers, most of whom are women of color, who have reported being sexually harassed at work, are frequently barred from reporting it due to contracts waiving their rights and ability to speak out. Biden will fight to make the workplace safe and fair for all by advocating and signing into law the Bring an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination in the Workplace (BE HEARD) Act. Biden will also better protect domestic workers – many of whom are women of color – through the passing of the National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.
Biden supports increasing funding for women-owned businesses. While women start business at two times the rate of men and represent 42% of the nation’s companies, they raise significantly less capital and often have to rely on personal funds. Biden will create direct federal funding for women-owned businesses through his “Buy American” policy. He will also double the funding for the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) to $3 billion and extend the program through 2025 to give small and women-owned businesses access to financing.
Increase Educational Opportunities
The success of women begins with access to education. Biden will aggressively enforce Title IX protections to ensure women receive equal access to educational opportunities.
Women currently make up nearly 60% of students who attend community college. Biden’s plan will make two years of community college debt-free to help women get the skills they need to stay competitive in today’s job market.Biden will also make public colleges and universities, private Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Minority-Serving Institution (MSIs) tuition-free for all students whose family incomes are below $125,000.
Source: Miller, K., Nelson, R., & Dice, S. (2017). Deeper In Debt: Women And Student Loans. Washington, DC: AAUW. Retrieved from https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/deeper-in-debt/
Biden will ensure college campuses are a safe environment for women, where schools and offenders are held accountable, and survivors are protected and given access to a fair education.
Currently, 1 in 5 women is sexually assaulted on their college campus.
→ Biden will increase fines on colleges who fail to act on sexual violence cases to hold them accountable for believing women and decreasing sexual assault. Biden will also require comprehensive education on college campuses about sexual assault prevention.
For career success, support and guidance is crucial. Biden will invest in programs to provide women educational opportunities to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers through training between high schools, community colleges, and employers. To aid in the growth of women in the workforce, Biden will invest in high-quality career development and coaching programs to provide relevant skills for 21st century job opportunities. At the high school level, Biden will promote financial literacy programs to help students –– primarily students of color and girls –– develop proficiency in financial planning, student loans, and debt management.
Expand Access to Health Care and Tackling Health Disparities
Biden will ensure health care is protected for each individual for their specific needs, regardless of gender, age, disability, status, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Until the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), women could face high premiums or even be turned away for having a pre-existing condition like high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, or pregnancy. Biden plans on protecting and building upon the Affordable Care Act, expanding access, lowering costs, and making quality, affordable health care a right for all.
Biden will clarify the Americans with Disabilities Act and ensure Medicaid services are properly equipped to deliver care to women with disabilities. He supports discrimination-free coverage for LGBTQA+ women, including covering care for gender conformation surgery, and will ban “conversion therapy”.
Relative to other developed countries, The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates, 17.4 deaths per 100,00 live births. Black women are 2.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than non-Hispanic white women.
California was able to decrease their maternal mortality rate by 55% by creating the California Quality Care Collaborative. This organization studies the causes behind maternal mortality and creates evidence-based solutions to implement at hospitals.Biden will apply this strategy nationwide.
Joe Biden supports the ACA’s access to free preventive care, including contraception, and has pledged to repeal the Hyde Amendment, a law that prevents those on Medicaid from receiving abortion services. Biden will also support legislation to codify Roe v. Wade to protect women’s reproductive health and the right to choose. Passing a law to protect abortion access through Congress will take the question of women’s reproductive right out of the hands of the Supreme Court and the states. Biden plans to restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other global health efforts in developing countries. He will restore the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate that requires for-profit corporations to pay for insurance coverage of contraception.
ALL WOMEN DESERVE ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTHCARE IN THE UNITED STATES.
Biden will direct federal criminal justice spending towards primary and gynecological care for incarcerated women to be sure that their gender-specific health needs are addressed, Biden will work with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that women veterans have access to at least one full-time women’s primary care physician and will eliminate co-pays for preventive healthcare services.
Biden will dramatically increase funding for the Indian Health Service (IHS) to provide comprehensive women’s care to native women, including mammograms, trauma-informed care, and mental health treatment.
Helping Women Navigate Work & Family
Caregiving is a necessity in American society, and since women bear the brunt of this work, it has long term implications on women’s job security and wealth, particularly for women of color. Joe Biden is one of the first presidential candidates to create a comprehensive plan to assist caregivers, acknowledging that caring for family members is predominantly done by women.
1 in 5 child care jobs have been lost since February, exacerbating a crisis that has left working mothers with few options. Only one in six American workers have access to paid family leave, forcing women to choose between their jobs and their families if a crisis occurs. Women who work part-time on average earn lower wages and benefits and are often forced to leave the workforce due to the lack of family-friendly policies.
The United States is currently the only developed country of 41 studied by Pew Research that does not mandate any paid family leave, despite 72% of mothers being employed either full-time or part-time.
Biden will ensure women (and all workers) have guaranteed access to up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave through the creation of a national paid family and medical leave program based on the FAMILY Act. This federally funded plan will cover at least two-thirds of workers’ paychecks up to $4,000. This will have a greater impact on low- and middle-wage workers because they will receive a greater percentage of their income while on leave. The national paid leave program will be guaranteed for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking as well. Employers will also be required to permanently provide up to 7 days of paid sick, family, and safe leave per year.
Biden will make child care more affordable and accessible for working families by expanding and funding different options for care. The cost of high-quality, licensed child care averages to be nearly $15,000 a year per child, creating a barrier to work for many women. Biden has proposed including pre-k for 3 and 4 year olds in the public school system to provide free child care. In addition, he plans to appropriately compensate families for the cost of childcare by expanding the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit from $1200 to $8000 per family. This credit can also be used for after-school, weekend, and summer care to help working mothers with school aged children.
End Violence Against Women
Biden has long fought against abuses of power – particularly violence against women and would continue to champion legislation, like his Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA). He will support legislation that creates a safety net for survivors of domestic violence, which includes reauthorizing and strengthening VAWA. This plan would provide cash assistance to survivors to help them escape their abusers and get back on their feet, and will expand survivor rights by creating a more direct line to fair reporting, prosecution, and justice.
He will create Regional Sexual Assault Investigative Training Academies to provide evidence-based and trauma-informed training on sexual assault. He will increase funding for the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative to address the national issue of the rape kit backlog andfight to bring justice to sexual assault and rape survivors. To confront and end the nation’s issue of online harassment, abuse, and stalking, Biden will create a National Task Force on Online Harassment and Abuse, allocating new funding to training law enforcement on how to address and pursue online abuse. Biden and his administration aim to change the culture in the United States that enables sexual violence. As President, Biden will address this culture and engage Americans to stand up and speak out against harassment and assault.
Biden will support the diverse needs of survivors of violence with policies specific to marginalized groups. 1 in 2 Native women are subject to sexual violence; Biden will address this by expanding tribal authority, including the Tribal community in discussions around solutions, and providing culturally specific resources for survivors. He will also offer funding and support tribes in building programs to investigate the alarming number of murdered and missing indigenous women.
Biden will push to repeal harsh, anti-immigrant state laws that thwart an immigrant’s ability to seek safety and justice in cases of domestic violence and sexual assault. He will reinstate asylum laws to protect women fleeing persecution, increase the number of u-visas provided to victims of crimes, and end visa processing delays for survivors of domestic violence. Finally, Biden will include sexual orientation and gender identity protections in legislation addressing domestic violence. He will make permanent funding for the National LGBTQ Institute on IPV, which works to address and prevent domestic violence in the LGBTQA+ community.
Women as World Leaders
There is an underrepresentation of women in roles of power worldwide and a lack of opportunity. Only 11 women serve as heads of state worldwide, and 24.3% serve in a law making capacity.
As President, Biden will empower women globally to restore America’s role as a champion of women, girls, and women’s rights. Biden will work with the United Nations and implement the Women, Peace, and Security Act, which would create a strategy to include women in government negotiations globally. America will invest in women economically to bring the global economy to its full potential.
He will increase access to education, banking and capital, and work across the globe to eliminate legal and cultural barriers for women. Biden will take the same focus and drive to end violence against women in America to a global scale by teaching governments and law enforcement how to confront, investigate, and prosecute gender-based violence through the passage of the International Violence Against Women Act.
