As of March 2021, 2.5 million women had left the workforce, according to the Labor Department, with minority female populations hit the hardest.ДЄs the Duke and Duchess of Sussex begin their American activism in earnest, it appears this will be one of their signature causes. The problem was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when child care centers shuttered and schools sent children home to learn remotely. The letter comes at a vital time: President Biden and other Democratic leaders recently cut funding for a national family paid leave program in the вЂњBuild Back BetterвЂќ budget reconciliation bill.ДЄmerica is one of the few developed nations in the world without guaranteed paid parental leave-in fact, fewer than one in four workers are given it by their company. вЂњMany of our economic systems are past their expiration date.вЂќ No family should have to choose between earning a living and having the freedom to take care of their child,вЂќ she wrote.

вЂњNo family should be faced with these decisions. But she remembers what those early days were like-and considers the unfair choices she would have likely faced if she had children during that time. Decades later, Markle acknowledges, she was in a far more privileged position when welcoming her own children. вЂњI worked all my life and saved when and where I could-but even that was a luxury-because usually it was about making ends meet and having enough to pay my rent and put gas in my car,вЂќ she wrote. She got personal about her own financial struggles, describing her first job at a local frozen yogurt shop at age 13 and the subsequent odd jobs she took to stay afloat. The sacrifice of either comes at a great cost.вЂќ вЂњThe working mom or parent is facing the conflict of being present or being paid.

At an alarming rate, millions of women dropped out of the workforce, staying home with their kids as schools and daycares were closed, and looking after loved ones full-time,вЂќ she wrote. Currently, the Duchess wrote, America is facing an invisible crisis concerning women and childcare: вЂњOver the past 20 months, the pandemic has exposed long-existing fault lines in our communities. Today, the Duchess of Sussex published an open letter to Senator Chuck Schumer and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi advocating for paid leave-a federal guarantee that parents can take compensated time off after welcoming a child.

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