Economic equality, poverty, and child care advocates will join legislators at a press conference today to call for new policies that will help secure women’s economic empowerment in California, and benefit families and communities across the state.

We applaud the introduction of the Healthy Families Act in Congress, and our Congressional leaders in California and other states who have sponsored this bill. In many places across the country, workers still lack access to a single paid sick day. This cannot continue.

The United States is one of only a handful of countries that offers no paid leave for new parents and no paid sick days. Today’s announcement from the federal government—our nation’s largest employer—should spur action throughout the country and lead to passage of the Healthy Families Act, as well as a national paid family leave program, such as the FAMILY Act.

A new report out today shows that just one in three California registered voters (36%) is aware of the state’s Paid Family Leave Program, a decrease from 43% observed in a similar Field Poll survey three years ago.

In case you missed it, San Francisco distinguished itself as a leader again, by passing the first legislation in the country that addresses last minute employment scheduling by large, chain retailers.

The commitment, unveiled in conjunction with today’s White House Early Learning Summit, builds on “Pequeños y Valiosos” (Young and Valuable), the joint campaign launched by Univision and Too Small to Fail in February 2014 that has since reached millions of Hispanic families with messages, tools and resources.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is expected to pass the San Francisco Predictable Scheduling and Fair Treatment for Formula Retail Employees Ordinance – legislation that will give at least 35,000 hourly workers in the city of San Francisco, who work for major chain-stores, the predictable schedules and regular pay they need to secure their families’ well-being.

Amid the growing sense of stalled progress in our nation’s capital, a rare bipartisan effort this week resulted in the successful passage and signing of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG). Last reauthorized in 1996, the bill will provide more than $15 billion over five years for child care programs across the country.

In San Francisco, the first legislation of its kind is currently being considered to increase predictable scheduling among certain retail and food service workers. Although San Francisco currently has the highest minimum wage in the country, it also has one of the highest costs of living in the United States. Nearly a quarter of San Francisco workers are employed part-time and face unpredictable s

Not only did voters approve measures to raise the minimum wage in Nebraska, Arkansas, Alaska, and South Dakota, but Massachusetts voters also passed a historic measure to guarantee employees access to paid sick days, making it the third state in the country to pass such a law.