{"id":2088,"date":"2021-05-08T18:22:25","date_gmt":"2021-05-08T18:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/?p=2088"},"modified":"2021-05-08T18:22:25","modified_gmt":"2021-05-08T18:22:25","slug":"city-council-announces-legislation-to-support-moms-and-caregivers-in-honor-of-mothers-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/2021\/05\/08\/2088\/","title":{"rendered":"City Council Announces Legislation to Support Moms and Caregivers in Honor of Mother\u2019s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>New bill\u00a0will\u00a0create a\u00a0\u201cMarshall Plan for Moms\u201d\u00a0Task Force<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>City Hall, NY<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0In recognition of the negative impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on women, and working mothers in particular, new legislation will be introduced in the City Council on\u00a0May 12\u00a0to help revitalize and restore mothers\u00a0in the workforce.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The legislation comes at a critical time.\u00a0Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 5.4 million women have lost their jobs, which is nearly a million more than men.\u00a0\u00a0In New York City, the pandemic forced\u00a052 percent of\u00a0women who provide care to reduce their paid working hours,\u00a0compared to one in three men,\u00a0according to\u00a0a poll\u00a0by the\u00a0New York City\u00a0Comptroller\u2019s Office.\u00a0The\u00a0crisis was most severe for women of color: 36% of them needed to take time off to care for a child compared to 29 percent of white women.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To help address these issues,\u00a0City Council\u00a0Member\u00a0Alicka\u00a0Ampry-Samuel\u00a0is introducing a bill to form\u00a0a\u00a0\u201cMarshall Plan for Moms\u201d\u00a0New York City\u00a0Task\u00a0Force. Its goal is to\u00a0develop recommendations on how to support working mothers and caregivers\u00a0as New York\u00a0City\u00a0continues\u00a0its recovery from the pandemic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0In addition,\u00a0Council\u00a0Member Laurie\u00a0Cumbo\u00a0is introducing a resolution that calls on\u00a0Congress\u00a0to pass\u00a0the\u00a0\u201cMarshall Plan\u00a0for Moms 2021,\u201d\u00a0a\u00a0resolution\u00a0introduced\u00a0in\u00a0the U.S. House of Representatives\u00a0by Rep. Grace Meng. This resolution\u00a0seeks\u00a0to\u00a0help\u00a0create a path for\u00a0a robust\u00a0paid\u00a0leave,\u00a0along with\u00a0affordable childcare for mothers who had to leave the workforce due to the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition,\u00a0the\u00a0federal\u00a0resolution\u00a0calls for\u00a0strengthening child poverty tools such as a child tax credit and earned income tax credit; expanding unemployment insurance benefits; strong Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; a federal minimum wage increase\u00a0to $15 an hour; and mental health support for moms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marshall Plan\u00a0is a reference to U.S. efforts to\u00a0help Europe\u00a0recover from World War II.\u00a0The \u201cMarshall Plan for Moms\u201d is a movement\u00a0to center mothers in our economic recovery and push for policies that support them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Members of the\u00a0proposed City\u00a0taskforce will be comprised by officials appointed by the Mayor and the Speaker. The taskforce will come up with\u00a0recommendations\u00a0designed\u00a0to support working mothers and caregivers.\u00a0The task force will explore:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The benefits of providing recurring direct cash payments to moms and other caregivers and of a comprehensive paid family leave policy for all employers in the city\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>How to best revitalize and restore the role of mothers in the workforce\u00a0during\u00a0the COVID-19 pandemic and following\u00a0recovery;\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The biggest contributors to and solutions for addressing the lack of family-supportive\u00a0workplaces;\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Access to rent relief, public assistance and financial support for mothers and caregivers in the workforce\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Rebuilding and stabilizing the childcare industry\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Access to culturally sensitive,\u00a0affordable\u00a0and quality healthcare for women and families, regardless of job status; and\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Access to mental health support for mothers and other caregivers, which is essential to maintaining the health of the family.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0\u201cOur economy can\u2019t recover without mothers in the workforce, but we can\u2019t expect them to work if the infrastructure isn\u2019t there for them to manage work and family life. Paid leave and\u00a0child care\u00a0should not be\u00a0based on how much you earn or where you work, they should be universal so we can end the inequities our nation has tolerated for too long,\u201d said\u00a0<strong>Speaker Corey Johnson<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0\u201cMothers don\u2019t need cards and praise once a year, they need child-care and\u00a0access to\u00a0paid leave\u00a0year-round,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0<strong>Majority Leader Laurie\u00a0Cumbo<\/strong>. \u201cDuring this pandemic, mothers\u00a0were expected to\u00a0do\u00a0the impossible. They cared for\u00a0young\u00a0children,\u00a0taught those in school, helped sick family members and\u00a0too many had to leave the workforce because they didn\u2019t have\u00a0the support they needed to continue. When mothers suffer, everyone suffers. And if we want our City\u00a0and country to recover, we need to find ways to make sure we create systems where working mothers can thrive\u00a0and don\u2019t have to quit or reduce their hours when there is a national crisis.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOn this Mother\u2019s Day, we need to get real about what moms are dealing with right now. This pandemic has made so many of their lives excruciatingly difficult, and we\u2019re never going to have a full recovery if we don\u2019t step up and support them. That\u2019s why I\u00a0am so proud to be sponsoring this bill to create a \u2018Marshall Plan for Moms Task Force,\u2019 which will examine the struggles mothers are facing and help find ways New York City can address these challenges. These problems didn\u2019t start with the pandemic, but it\u2019s clear they\u2019ve gotten worse and will continue to get worse if we don\u2019t take steps now. Let\u2019s be part of the solution,\u201d said\u00a0<strong>Council Member\u00a0AlickaAmpry-Samuel<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs a proud mother and grandmother, nothing is more important than my family but working while raising children is difficult. We need policies that make it easier for women to do both. We need a \u2018Marshall Plan for Moms,\u2019\u201d said\u00a0<strong>Darma\u00a0V.\u00a0Diaz, Chair of theCommittee on Women and Gender Equity<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It is no secret how hard mothers work around-the-clock to support themselves and their families. Women deserve their fair share, regardless of their workspace. With more women of color at home due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we need to end the racial and gender disparities that perpetuate poverty in predominantly Black and brown households. The Marshall Plan for Moms Task Force is a crucial\u00a0headstart\u00a0to normalizing working mothers while advancing gender equity and pay parity,&#8221; said\u00a0<strong>Council Member Farah N. Louis, co-chair of the Women\u2019sCaucus.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe past year has made it\u00a0more clear\u00a0than ever that we need a serious reckoning around the way we value and support motherhood,\u201d said\u00a0<strong>Reshma Saujani, founder of Marshall Plan for Moms and CEO of Girls Who Code<\/strong>. \u201cWe need to acknowledge that\u00a0in order to\u00a0achieve gender equity\u00a0we must value women\u2019s unpaid labor. We need a Marshall Plan for Moms. It\u2019s wonderful that the New York City Council is hearing our call and taking meaningful steps to change the way we value mom\u2019s unseen and unpaid work.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">###\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><em>New bill\u00a0will\u00a0create a\u00a0\u201cMarshall Plan for Moms\u201d\u00a0Task Force<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>City Hall, NY<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0In recognition of the negative impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on women, and working mothers in particular, new legislation will be introduced in the City Council on\u00a0May 12\u00a0to help revitalize and restore mothers\u00a0in the workforce.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong><small><a href=\"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/2021\/05\/08\/2088\/\">READ MORE<\/a><\/small><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2088\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}