Sheila Bapat is an attorney and writer covering economic and gender justice. Her work has appeared in Jacobin, Salon, Reuters, Slate, Alternet, Truthout, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor and Employment Law, PolicyMatters, and the Center for Women Policy Studies' series, "Reproductive Laws for the 21st Century." Her article about the US domestic workers' movement is forthcoming in The Believer magazine. Sheila holds a JD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.
In addition to gun policy reform, gender, and its entanglement with culture, economics, mental health and many other factors, requires serious attention.
Housekeeping—a job predominantly held by women—can cause a good deal of physical pain due the repetitive nature of the work. To help improve conditions for housekeepers and all workers, organizers seek to reform Hyatt’s corporate board.
In the first eight days of fiscal cliff negotiations, both sides almost seem to have resigned themselves to stalemate. But a possible austerity crisis could cripple already feeble programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
Legal protections for domestic workers have historically been weak. But despite a major loss in California at the hands of Governor Jerry Brown, the domestic workers’ rights movement and its supporters feel the tide may be turning in their favor.
The impact of Democratic victories could be undercut during the looming “fiscal cliff” negotiations if Democrats do not unite and flex their muscle to actually protect the coalitions who elected them.
There is clear evidence that party affiliation, not just gender, are the driving forces behind whether a legislator supports tougher policy to ensure fair pay. However, some Republican women in the Senate have broken with their party in support of some pay equity legislation.
While Elizabeth Warren is viewed as a threat to the banks, she is just one Senator. Congress is still rife with members, both Republican and Democrat, who rely heavily on the banks for their campaigns.
Looking ahead to the next four years, this strengthened “marriage” between Obama, Democrats generally, and non-white and women voters could help carve a path to genuinely progressive economic policy.
Once the election is finally over, Congress will decide whether to keep provisions of VAWA that could pose challenges for domestic workers toiling in private homes throughout the United States.
Natural disasters tend to make low income and poor people—the majority of whom are women—even more vulnerable to physical assault as well as to greater economic challenges in the years that follow.
