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It's the Money, Honey!
Whether the economy is in recession or not, mothers can tell you the downturn has hit hard. Doing the weekly grocery shopping and gassing up the family car have moved beyond unpleasant to downright painful. Mothers know that budgets have gotten tighter and worries are growing in the space of a few short months. Members of Congress got an earful in early June when the US Joint Economic Committee heard expert testimony regarding the impact of slowing growth on women's employment and financial stress on families.
Women now make up a significant part of the workforce, and their earnings comprise nearly half of family income. In fact, over 7 million families with children are supported solely by a working mother. So far, women have been a bit protected from the worst of the firings and layoffs, but not for long. The brunt of the slow down has been felt initially in the manufacturing and construction industries, which employ more men. However, tough times will soon result in dwindling state treasuries as corporate, property, sales, and income tax proceeds diminish.
As women rely more heavily on state programs, and make up a larger portion of the health care, education, and service-related labor force, they will find themselves both increasingly unemployed and without public programs on which they once relied. The retail trade and financial services sector will take some hits, and we can expect tough times well into 2009. Job losses for women occur later in this down cycle than those for men, and they will likely continue even once the economy picks back up again.
The mortgage mess also has a distinctly female aspect. Women are more likely than men to hold expensive subprime mortgages than men. African-American women are three times more likely to have this kind of mortgage than white women. Real estate used to be a real comfort, an asset against which families strapped for cash could obtain some to tide them over. Falling property values resulting from the market meltdown mean families are much less likely to find a home equity loan to see them through.
Economic experts told Congress that workers need policies to protect their economic security now more than ever. Unemployment insurance ought to be extended, a measure clawing its way through Congress right now. Improving mothers' ability to compete in the labor force by enhancing access to paid leave, subsidizing child care, promoting flexible work arrangements for all parents would help them obtain and hold on to jobs. The US should beef up enforcement of its Equal Employment Opportunity regulations, ensuring discrimination in the workplace on the basis of parental status does not occur. Stronger restrictions on the credit services and financial industry must stop the targeting of vulnerable borrowers. Also, a national paid sick days policy would protect a worker's job security if she missed a day or two of work due to illness.
You can read the experts' testimony, or even watch a video of the hearing, by clicking here.
Til next time,
Your (Wo)Man in Washington
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