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“TIME’S UP applauds the historic paid family and medical leave program that was added to the House version of the Build Back Better reconciliation bill yesterday,” says Latifa Lyles, Vice President of Advocacy and Survivor Initiatives at TIME’S UP. While caregiving in the United States has historically been seen as an individual responsibility, mainly placed upon women, to provide paid and unpaid care, this investment has the power to accelerate the economy and begin to reverse generations of systemic sexism, and racism, and other structural barriers to economic mobility.”

“For generations, women — especially Black, Brown, and immigrant women — have been the backbone of our families and our economy both as caregivers and workers. The investments in Build Back Better will be transformative in the lives of working women and critical to the ongoing struggle for economic security and equity in the labor force. For too long, workplace structures and national policies have not only lagged behind globally, but they have also lagged behind the enormous strides women have made in the U.S. labor market. The four weeks of paid leave are estimated to add 65,000 jobs to the economy, and TIME’S UP research shows including paid leave is essential for gender and racial equity.”

“We thank our Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, Representative Rosa DeLauro, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator Patty Murray, and Senator Ron Wyden for their fierce leadership and for fighting for working families. We urge both the House and Senate to move expeditiously and pass the bill in its entirety.”

• REPORT: Paid Leave Pays Dividends: How a National Paid Leave Policy Will Benefit the Economy

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TIME’S UP Foundation