The Women’s Initiative develops robust, progressive policies and solutions to ensure all women can participate in the economy and live healthy, productive lives.
A woman introduces her newborn baby to her grandmother, November 2020, in Los Angeles. (Getty/Brandon Bell)
What We're Doing
Advancing a proactive abortion agenda
Abortion rights are under attack. Our proactive agenda provides a road map for state and federal lawmakers to develop and enact policies that ensure equitable, safe access to abortion. In coalition, we will push back against restrictions that impede access to this critical health care service.
Addressing the maternal health crisis
People are more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes in the United States than in any other high-income country. Working closely with partners, we develop policy interventions to curb the maternal health crisis, eliminate racial disparities, and advance investments in maternal health care.
Closing the gender wage gap
To address pay disparities, especially for women of color, our comprehensive work advocates for measures such as the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA). The PFA would strengthen equal pay protections, prohibit employer retaliation, and limit employers’ reliance on salary history to make hiring decisions.
Building a stronger economy by prioritizing women
Women are crucial to a thriving economy and families’ economic stability and must be at the heart of any economic recovery. We research solutions that maximize women’s economic participation and respond to competing demands of work and family, such as a national paid family and medical leave program.
The Women’s Initiative works to secure women’s health and bodily autonomy, economic stability, equality, and access to equitable opportunities and uphold other reproductive, civil, and human rights. We firmly believe that the diverse experiences of women across race, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, faith backgrounds, and other factors—and the challenges they face—must be at the center of the national policy debate.
Social Security, Medicare are on the line this November—and women older than 50 know it
Beth Almeida and Maggie Jo Buchanan discuss how MAGA Republicans’ extremist agenda and renewed efforts to slash Social Security and Medicare would particularly harm women over the age of 50.
Expanding Access and Protections in States Where Abortion Is Legal
Abortion is protected by state law in more than 20 states, many of which have expanded access to abortion by making it more affordable, codifying state-level reproductive rights, broadening the types of providers able to offer care, and protecting abortion providers and access to clinics.
How State Attorneys General Can Protect Abortion Rights
As some states seek to criminalize abortion within their borders, attorneys general can take many actions to ensure access to abortion care in at least some states.
How Americans Can Fight Back Against a Radical Supreme Court Majority
Responding to the judicial overreach of a radical Supreme Court majority will require long-term structural reforms to the courts and immediate action to mitigate the harms caused by their wrongly decided decisions.
‘You Might See People Digging In’: Can Joe Biden Actually Sway Obama-Trump Voters?
Author Jodi Enda visits two counties in suburban Pennsylvania to interview white, working-class women—the constituency that helped elect Donald Trump in 2016—about their faith in the president and the upcoming election.
