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Many Americans had reason to be concerned about their retirement prospects long before 2020. For decades, the racial wealth gap between Whites and African-Americans has increased, while the gap between Whites and Latinos has not diminished. Workers of color and low-income workers have long had less stable jobs, which provided fewer supports and exposed them to higher risks.

Now, communities that were already the most vulnerable to being insecure in retirement have been hit hardest by COVID-19. This is especially concerning for women of color, who tend to have low-wage, front-line jobs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted both severe inadequacy and major inequalities in our country's caregiving infrastructure. Prior to the pandemic, needs for child care, as well as long-term services and supports (LTSS) for older adults and adults living with disabilities, were already growing.

For many families, care demands may become unmanageable, or manageable only at significant cost to family members’ health, well-being, income, and careers. This is especially true for women — especially women of color — who face stark disadvantages in terms of financial security and labor force attachment when meaningful access to affordable early child care and education (ECCE), and to paid family and medical leave (PFML), are lacking.