Advocates: Paid leave, child-care assistance would help Iowa women, state economy

DES MOINES - Iowa needs more policies that encourage women to remain in the workforce.

That was the message delivered at a women's economic issues forum held Thursday at the Des Moines Central Library.

The daylong event was hosted by the progressive organizations, the Center for American Progress and Progress Iowa, and featured multiple speakers and panel discussions with state lawmakers and experts on policy and public opinion.

'Change really happens from a mix of things. It happens from people wanting to make a difference and make changes in public policy, but also from leaders acting on issues,” said Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress and one of the event's keynote speakers. 'We hope that we raise awareness with people but also create some additional focus among the candidates.”

The Center for American Progress also on Thursday published a report that suggests Iowa family incomes have rebounded to pre-recession levels and credits the number of women in the state's workforce.

But the report also says wages have not kept pace with increasing costs in health care, education and child care, which has helped put an economic 'squeeze” on many Iowa families.

The report suggests one way to combat that is to enact policies such as paid maternity and sick leave and programs such as affordable child care that make it more favorable for women to remain in the workforce.

'Unfortunately, our policies in this country are still stuck in that Ozzie and Harriet era,” said Sarah Jane Glynn of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, referring to a popular 1950s and '60s TV show. 'We have dramatically changed the way we live over the past 50 years, but our policies have not changed.”

Glynn said although policies such as paid leave, child care assistance and increasing the minimum wage typically divide politicians along party lines, they receive bipartisan support among the public.

Democratic office holders and candidates typically support such programs, while Republicans often oppose them, either out of opposition to government mandates on businesses or increased government spending.

Glynn and Tanden suggested businesses that have some of these programs in place become better off.

'You find that businesses actually thrive when they address these issues,” said Tanden, who has performed policy work for the presidential campaigns and administrations of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. 'You have higher workforce participation rates, there's less absenteeism, when they become mothers they go back to the workforce instead of leaving.

'Really, these policies are good for families, but they're also good for businesses by increasing retention and decreasing turnover.”