LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, visited Dress for Success Southern Nevada, a nonprofit focused on providing career and economic development skills and resources – including professional attire – to women seeking to enter or re-enter the workforce. During her visit, Senator Rosen highlighted the work she has done to help women who left the workforce due to the COVID-19 pandemic secure good-paying, stable careers and access quality, affordable childcare for their children.
“It’s clear that COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted working women in Nevada and across our country. Unfortunately, since the pandemic’s start, we’ve seen millions of women pushed out of the workforce through no fault of their own,” said Senator Rosen. “Today, I visited the southern Nevada chapter of Dress for Success, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering Nevada women to achieve economic independence by providing professional attire, a network of support, and career development tools. As we continue our efforts to reopen and recover, we must make sure we address the obstacles that hinder women from returning to their careers or finding new ones.”
BACKGROUND: Earlier this year, Senator Rosen voted for, Congress passed, and President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act, the benefits of which are still being felt today. The American Rescue Plan included $39 billion for emergency relief to support child care providers during the pandemic – the absence of which has been a leading factor preventing women from returning to the workforce.
Senator Rosen is a co-sponsor of the Child Care for Working Families Act, which would ensure families that earn less than 150 percent of the median income of their state do not pay higher than seven percent of their income on child care. The bill also expands preschool programs and supports higher wages for child care workers.
Senator Rosen also led the introduction of the bipartisan and bicameral Small Business Child Care Investment Act (S.1587) with Congresswoman Susie Lee (D-NV). This legislation would:
- Ensure that qualified non-profit providers have equal access to SBA loans that allow providers to invest in and expand their operations, which creates local jobs and gives working families more options for affordable and quality child care;
- Ensure non-profit providers can access the larger and more flexible loan programs that can be used for real estate, construction, remodeling, and other expenses critical to maintaining and expanding high-quality child care operations.
Rosen is also the lead sponsor of the STEM RESTART Act, bipartisan legislation that would provide funding to small and medium-sized science, technology, engineer, and math (STEM) businesses to offer robust, paid, mid-career internships, known as “returnships” for mid-career workers seeking to return or transition into the STEM workforce, including the many women who have left the workforce during the pandemic. The bill addresses a problem highlighted by research from the Center for Talent Innovation, which shows that while 93 percent of off-ramped women want to resume their careers, only 74 percent manage to get any kind of job at all, and just 40 percent successfully return to work full-time.
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