Family Values at Work - A Multi-State Consortium

Following Up on the Shriver Report - A Valuing Families Agenda

A diverse network of state and national organizations is releasing a Valuing Families Agenda, offering solutions to issues raised in a new report by Maria Shriver.  

"The Shriver Report:  A Woman's Nation Changes Everything" explores the ways that women’s entry into the workforce has transformed families, our economy and our entire society. But as the report notes, workplaces, laws and public policies have not kept pace.

The Valuing Families Agenda details policy solutions that can remove many of the barriers that persist. These barriers include the fact that too many women and men are still forced to choose between supporting their families and caring for them.

The signers – representing women, labor, business, faith, children, aging and caregiver groups – support a new standard of paid sick days that will ensure that workers aren't fired for being sick or caring for a sick family member. The Agenda also urges policymakers to make family leave accessible and affordable to everyone. And it notes that workers need greater control over their schedules in order to care for their loved ones.

“Women aren't the only ones who have a stake in securing these changes,” said Ellen Bravo, Executive Director of the Family Values @ Work Consortium. “Men, families, businesses and the nation as a whole will all benefit.”

“The Shriver report does the nation a real service by raising critical issues that have a profound impact on families today,” said Debra L. Ness, President of the National Partnership for Women and Families. “We need solutions that will help America’s workplaces catch up with the realities described in this book.”

What Congress can do to value families at work:

• Make the Valuing Families at Work initiative a high-profile priority.
• Guarantee a minimum number of paid sick days for everyone in the labor force.
• Ensure job-protected and affordable family and medical leave for all workers.
• Ensure all employees have the right to greater control over their work schedules without losing protections like overtime pay.

Read our Priorities for Federal Action