Hillary Clinton with her daughter Chelsea in 1984.Mike Stewart — Sygma via Getty Images
We’ve made progress, but have a ways to go.
When
I was pregnant with my daughter Chelsea, I asked about the maternity
leave policy at the law firm where I worked. I was surprised to find out
that we didn’t have one. I soon learned why: No woman who worked in our
office had ever come back to work full-time after having a baby.
Well,
I wanted to come back. I loved what I did. And it was important to me
to contribute to my family’s finances, especially now that we were
having a baby.
Finally,
as my due date approached, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
When Chelsea was born, my employer agreed to grant me four months off
to be home with her. I’d still earn an income, though it would be
smaller; part of my income was determined by the fees I generated for
the firm, which would fall to zero while I was on leave. That made sense
to me. And it meant a lot that I could have that time with my new
daughter, knowing that my job would be waiting for me when I came back.
These
kinds of situations are commonplace today, with more women entering the
workforce than ever before. Today, nearly half of all full-time
employees are women. Through our contributions, talent, insights, and
very presence, we’ve changed the workplace forever. There’s no going
back to the days when women were fired for getting married or pregnant,
or were excluded from entire professions. Thank goodness.
Bill and Hillary with their daughter Chelsea in 1980.Courtesy of Hillary for America
But
let’s be real. We still have a long way to go. Our policies just
haven’t kept up with the challenges women and families face today.
Too
many women still aren’t paid fairly. On average, women earn 20% less
than men do for full-time, year-round work. Women of color earn even
less. And when a working mom or grandmother earns less than she
deserves, she’s not the only one who pays the price. Her children or
grandchildren — whoever’s counting on her salary — do, too.
Women
also make up the majority of minimum-wage workers, which means they
make as little as $14,500 a year for full-time work. That’s below the
national poverty line. Many of those women are raising kids on that
income. Raising the federal minimum wage would do a lot for those
families.
Meanwhile,
even though the number of women running companies, labs, universities,
and philanthropies is growing, it’s still too small. So is the number of
women serving in elected office. That means women aren’t always
included in decision-making, and their needs and concerns aren’t always
reflected in government policy or workplace norms.
And we’re making it too hard to balance work and family. That’s true for all parents, but especially mothers. Women are breadwinners in more households than ever, yet they still do the lion’s share of childcare.
Many
are feeling the squeeze. I’ve had moms break down in tears as they
describe the heartbreak of returning to work just a few days after
delivering their baby, because they don’t have paid leave at their jobs.
Staying with their child for a few months would mean losing too many
paychecks, maybe even their job.
In
April, I met a mom in Newton, Iowa, who held her
four-and-a-half-month-old in her arms. She said to me, “I’m counting on
you to know what it’s like to be a working mother. Please help us
working mothers and fathers have more time with our babies.”
I’m not going to let her down.
One
thing we can do is invest in affordable childcare. Right now, childcare
is more expensive than college tuition in many states. Let’s make sure
no family has to spend more than 10% of their income on childcare by
making historic investments in childcare assistance and providing tax
relief to working families.
Let’s
finally join every other advanced economy in the world and guarantee
paid leave. I’m proposing 12 weeks of paid medical leave to recover from
a serious illness, and 12 weeks of paid family leave to care for a new
child or a sick relative. After all, moms and dads both deserve to spend
time with their babies.
Let’s
encourage employers to adopt family-friendly work policies, like
flexible and fair scheduling and tele-work, so parents can both work and
be there for their families.
Let’s raise the minimum wage. No one who works full-time should be forced to raise their kids in poverty.
And
at long last, let’s finally ensure equal pay for women. It’s time for
Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act — which I cosponsored when I
was in the Senate — to give women the tools they need to fight
discrimination in the workforce. We also need to promote pay
transparency so that women have the information they need to negotiate
fairly for their wages.
These
aren’t just women’s issues. They’re economic issues and family issues.
And they need to be a top priority for our next president. If we’re
going to build a globally competitive workforce, we can’t afford to
leave any talent on the sidelines. We can’t keep short-changing working
families.
I’ll never
forget what it was like to be a mom at work. It wasn’t easy. And I was
lucky: I had financial security, a supportive employer, and affordable
childcare. Too many families don’t. I’ve met so many parents stuck in
impossible situations, at their wits’ ends trying to make it all work.
It just shouldn’t be this hard to work and have a family.
As
president, it’ll be my mission to bring our economy and workplaces into
the 21st century, so all of our contributions are respected — both
women’s and men’s — and families can thrive.
Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee for president and a former secretary of state.
