Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Connecticut voters approved early voting. Here’s how their new secretary of state wants to make it happen.

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 13
      • Women lawmakers in Minnesota are in the vanguard of the democracy movement

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 3
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Military
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)

Business & Economy

Elizabeth Warren put child care front and center at the DNC

“It’s time to recognize that child care is part of the basic infrastructure of this nation,” she said, calling the industry “infrastructure for families.”  

Chabeli Carrazana

Economy Reporter

Chabeli Carrazana portrait

Published

2020-08-20 14:41
2:41
August 20, 2020
pm

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has told the story of her Aunt Bee — who helped Warren care for her small children when she was a full-time teacher in Texas — many times. But at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night, the memory was the centerpiece of a speech that has taken on new meaning in the pandemic. 

Warren addressed viewers from inside the deserted Early Childhood Education Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, a symbolic recognition of the working parents who this year have witnessed the child care industry crumble, many asking themselves the questions that plagued Warren all those years ago.

As a law teacher in Houston, Warren was overwhelmed trying to find quality child care for her two children. She was ready to quit her job — until a call with her then-78-year-old Aunt Bee changed everything. 

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

“I can’t get there tomorrow, but I’ll come on Thursday,” Aunt Bee told her. 

The senator from Massachusetts has long highlighted the story as a moment that saved her career and allowed her to be a working mother. But it’s now particularly relevant as millions of women have been thrust into America’s first female recession. 

Coronavirus has economically devastated women, who have suffered 54 percent of the nation’s total job losses since February. The child care industry — which employs women in 95 percent of its jobs — has been hit with particular force: one in five child care workers have lost their jobs and thousands of centers have shuttered. It’s left parents at home with their children — and with few options. 

It’s also overwhelmed some mothers who, without a support system, have made the decision to leave their jobs entirely. 

The problem grew from a larger devaluation of the industries that parents, and especially women, rely on, Warren said Wednesday. 

“We build infrastructure like roads, bridges and communications systems so that people can work. That infrastructure helps us all because it keeps our economy going,” she said. “It’s time to recognize that child care is part of the basic infrastructure of this nation — it’s infrastructure for families.” 

During her presidential run, which ended in March, Warren touted a universal child care plan in which the federal government partners with local providers and picks up a majority of the costs of offering the service, including allowing local providers to offer child care for free to families making less than 200 percent of the federal poverty line. Any family making more than that is capped at spending no more than 7 percent of their income on child care. 

The plan is not dissimilar to what Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden has outlined in a $325 billion, 10-year child care proposal that would offer free pre-kindergarten to 3- and 4-year-olds, as well as tax credits to low-income families to reduce the cost of child care or sliding scale subsidies that would cap low-income families at spending no more than 7 percent of their earnings on child care. 

Warren became a close Biden adviser this summer, leveraging her command of policy and position as a leader in the Democrats’ progressive wing. Her influence is clear in the Biden policies she chose to highlight Wednesday night, many of which mirror her own. 

“I love a good plan, and Joe Biden has some really good plans,” Warren said. ”Plans to bring back union jobs in manufacturing and create new union jobs in clean energy. Plans to increase Social Security benefits, cancel billions in student loan debt, and make our bankruptcy laws work for families instead of the creditors who cheat them.” 

Biden’s larger economic recovery plan will focus on working families, returning manufacturing supply chains to the U.S., building sustainable infrastructure and creating greater racial and economic equity. 

The racial disparities woven into the fabric of America have been on full display during a pandemic that hit people of color harder in every aspect of life. Latinas have the nation’s highest unemployment rate. Black people are dying at the highest rate of any group. And businesses led by people of color have been shut out of the stimulus dollars that were at arm’s reach for White businesses. 

In child care, those disparities have made it so Black mothers, in particular, are more vulnerable. Black mothers are more than twice as likely as White women to be primary breadwinners in their households and far less likely to have savings, making the decisions brought on by the pandemic nearly impossible choices for families who can’t afford to miss work and don’t have a safety net to turn to. 

As if speaking to them, Warren’s speech on Wednesday included a subtle nod to the movement against systemic racism that has gained prominence this year following the death of George Floyd. In the cubbies behind Warren as she spoke, children’s blocks spelled out an acronym: BLM — Black lives matter. 

Looking ahead to November’s election, Warren’s speech served as a bridge between the progressive and moderate factions of the Democratic party that will need to be united if Democrats want to win the White House. The policies around working families, now with renewed urgency due to the pandemic, will be a key issue for voters. 

“We can build a thriving economy,” Warren said, “by investing in families and fixing what’s broken.”

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

Up Next

Election 2020

‘A history of great glory’: The consequential, evolving role of Black sororities in suffrage

From suffrage to 2020’s vice presidential nominee, Black sororities have been part of the political process. But some sisters believe their actions could be bolder.

Read the Story

Women standing on steps with lanterns framing them.

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram