With the changing political landscape, the upcoming months will mark a change in our country’s leadership as well as in the general priorities within the executive branch. While we wait patiently for December 14 to come for the Electoral College to meet, the current projections show Joe Biden as President-elect. For Biden, one such priority is women’s rights. Below you will find a breakdown of some of Joe Biden’s comprehensive agenda towards upholding and promoting the rights of women while in office.
- Improve Economic Security
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The President-elect has expressed that every issue is reflective of women’s issues, especially when fighting for equal pay. He also describes the importance of investing in female-led businesses as well as increasing access to educational programs and promoting the participation of women in male-dominated industries through higher pay and other incentives. Specifically, a Biden administration would work towards promoting financial safeguards to continue to protect women in the modern workforce.
- Expand healthcare and address inequities in health
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Healthcare is a topic that is uniquely significant for women, as women prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were charged up to 50 to 80 percent more for monthly premiums than their male counterparts. Even with the ACA, women still have increasing healthcare costs. Just in 2015, the average women aged 19-34 years old paid an estimated 3,402 USD compared to 1,891 USD for men. Biden pledges to expand access to high-quality and affordable healthcare for all women to prevent these prevailing inequities.
- Expand access to affordable care for children, older Americans, and individuals with disabilities
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By creating affordable programs for care for children, older Americans, and individuals with disabilities, women residing in the U.S. will be able to better navigate and balance both work and family. More paid leave and workplace benefits would apply in order to fully provide the necessary resources and protections.
- End violence against women
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In the United States alone, nearly 1 in 5 women have been raped at some time in their lives, with over 79.6% experiencing this before the age of 25. Biden, having authored the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, expresses that he will work to end violence against women and promote a safer America for all female Americans.
- Lead by example
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Biden plans to make his administration and cabinet reflective of the American people, which includes appointing members that promote the diverse and inclusive American populace. By choosing senator Kamala Harris as his Vice President, Biden has already served to help give women a platform and voice in the federal government.
- Reproductive Health
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Biden plans to build on the progress of the Affordable Care Act, which ensured access to free preventative care and contraception. Biden has expressed that he will work to stop state laws that violate Roe v. Wade and restore funding for Planned Parenthood and reverse the Trump administration’s rule preventing it from obtaining Title X funds.
- Healthcare Protections for LGBTQ+ Women
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Under the Obama-Biden administration, great steps were taken to ensure that insurance companies could not increase premiums due to gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. However, with President Trump’s roll back on these protections, Biden pledges to ensure coverage for comprehensive care that would include transitioning and gender confirmation surgery. He will also work to end conversion therapy.
- Healthcare Protections for Native Women
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Biden actively supports funding the Indian Health Service (HIS), which provides Native American women access to comprehensive health care, including preventative screenings, as indigenous women are very susceptible to a lack of preventative care.
- Protect and empower immigrant women
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Biden has pledged to push to repeal any extreme anti-immigrant state laws that lead many immigrant women who are victim to domestic violence and sexual assault to not come forward or contact police. Victims often refuse to seek out help to not risk deportation, retaliation from the abuser, or separation from their children. Biden plans to work in conjunction with cities, states, non-profits, and law enforcement to protect migrant women.
- Support women service members and veterans
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Women make up over 16% of enlisted troops and 19% of the officer corps. Biden expresses the need to establish accountability in reports of sexual harassment against women service members and insists that the Department of Defense take urgent and aggressive action to ascertain that abusers are held accountable for their actions. Biden plans to immediately appoint a commission comprised of current and former military leaders, military sexual assault survivors, and prominent sexual assault experts to make recommendations within 90 days of reporting.
The points listed above only reflect a part of Biden’s extensive plan to uphold and promote women’s rights as president. However, he has already helped tear down glass ceilings by appointing Kamala Harris- a black and South Asian woman- as his Vice President. Come inauguration day, a Biden administration could mean a new era of representation for women in America in healthcare, government, social programs, and abroad.