NEW YORK, NEW YORK (October 12, 2022) – On Wednesday, October 12, the New York City Council voted in the affirmative on a package of child care related bills, including critically important legislation from Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, the Marshall Plan for Moms Taskforce (Int-242). The taskforce will develop and issue recommendations on how New York City can support working mothers, parents, and caregivers, and is based on the Marshall Plan for Moms movement, founded by Reshma Saujani. The Marshall Plan for Moms is the starting point to look toward a historic investment in women’s economic recovery and empowerment, and especially against the backdrop of the pandemic’s impact on mothers and working caregivers. A robust set of policies and programs designed to support mothers is not only key to long-term economic recovery, but critical for delivering an equitable and effective social safety net and creating respect for the value of mothers’ unpaid labor. 

The taskforce will study and create recommendations focused on the impact of working mothers, parents, and caregivers over the past five years, specifically looking at the years of the Covid pandemic. The taskforce will examine the impact of recurring direct cash payments, workplace policies, access to rent relief and financial assistance, and the barriers to such relief.  The taskforce will also consider the state of the child care industry in NYC, which is currently in crisis, plagued with late payments from the City and center closures throughout the five boroughs, despite the increasing need.

“A woman who leaves the workforce to care for her children will lose out on more than $480k in income over the course of her lifetime, which is income families desperately need. New York City is in the midst of a childcare crisis, which means that women and caregivers are experiencing an economic crisis,”  said Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez. “The Marshall Plan for Moms uses an economic lens to address the issue of childcare, which has long been dismissed as a “women’s issue,” and acknowledges the transformational impact that real investments could have for millions of families in our City. This is just the first step towards true Universal Child Care.” 

“As we approach the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, women, particularly moms in America, are still facing a national crisis–both at home, and in the workplace. By establishing the Marshall Plan for Moms taskforce, we applaud the City Council for demonstrating their commitment to supporting women,”  said Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Marshall Plan for Moms and founder of Girls Who Code. “We look forward to working with the city to offer recommendations on recurring payments, paid leave, affordable childcare, and other urgently needed solutions to support working moms to recover and thrive going forward. “

By design, the composition of the Marshall Plan for Moms Taskforce will center around the experiences of and rely on recommendations from New Yorkers that are working in this system every day, from parents, to providers, to principals. 

You can see the full language and composition of the task force here.