Care Economy Executive Order Statement

Today, President Biden will enact an Executive Order with 50 actions to bolster and advance the nation’s care economy. Family Values @ Work (FV@W) and our Network have led the work to further the caregiving needs of workers and their families for more than two decades. This suite of actions signifies a continued commitment to care from this Administration, and a moment of celebration for us as we commemorate our 20th anniversary of advocacy, organizing, and political action.

The President’s Executive Order––committing to making child care more accessible and affordable for families, boosting job quality for early educators and long-term care workers, supporting family caregivers, and making visible domestic workers ––is a step forward in strengthening the care economy. And his decision to take action now shows the impact of families who have been demanding action. 

“The President’s move to support caregivers and the families they support shows that this administration is listening to the demands of working caregivers,” said Josephine Kalipeni, executive director of Family Values @ Work. “This is a significant win for our Network who has worked hard to ensure that the priorities of working families remain a priority for this Administration. We also know that without paid family and medical leave, and paid sick and safe days, our care workers’ needs are not fully met. The President cannot act alone. I fully expect that Congress will also act to demonstrate to their constituents that they care about their lives and needs.”  

We celebrate this Executive Order and we are clear that Congress must act to pass legislation that will make working families’ lives easier. Without paid family and medical leave, and paid sick and safe days, our work is not yet done. We demand that our legislators––whom we employ––promote care in policy and practice. And we demand the actualization of a care economy that ensures that all of the resources needed to take time to care––including paid family and medical leave with job security and progressive wage replacement, paid sick and safe days, and affordable childcare––are available to all. We know these policies work because of our 20 years of advancing them in the states where more than 55 million have been impacted positively by our paid sick days and family leave wins, and over 16 million workers now have access to paid sick days laws as a result of our work.

In a nation that underpays and undervalues caregivers, we are stronger as a community and a nation when we claim our right to care and when leaders make these issues a priority – as this administration continues to do. When we have time to care, our families are healthier, our communities are safer, and we advance toward equity.