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Greetings, 19th friends! A reminder to join The 19th’s Amanda Becker today at 1 p.m. ET for a live conversation with Ronna McDaniel, presented by Bumble. McDaniel has chaired the Republican National Committee since 2017, the second woman to hold that post. Register now to submit questions for today’s conversation.
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Members of the Williamstown League of Women Voters march in the Fourth of July parade in Williamstown, Mass. on July 4, 2019. (Gillian Jones/The Berkshire Eagle via AP)
PANDEMIC POLLING
A new national survey, conducted by the nonpartisan civic education group All in Together, captures women’s outlooks on the 2020 election in the time of COVID-19. And they’re ready to vote.
- 82 percent of all respondents said that they were “almost certain” to vote in the fall.
- Just over 86 percent of Republican women said they were very likely to vote. Independents followed at 81 percent, and Democrats came in at 80 percent.
- At 88.5 percent, white women — a key bloc in President Trump’s 2016 victory — were the most committed to voting, compared to 78 percent of black women and 72 percent of Latinas.
Although 48 percent of women said they held a “very unfavorable” view of Trump, among women who had lost their jobs due to COVID-19, the president still retained strong support.
- Half of the women who lost their jobs because of the pandemic voted for Trump in 2016. These women tend to be Southern and suburban, and 51 percent of them plan to stick with him.
- However, women who lost wages because of coronavirus are leaning toward Biden at 53 percent.
Latinas are the least likely to vote out of the groups polled, but they also report being the most overburdened.
- 23 percent of Latinas reported losing wages because of COVID-19, compared to 14 percent of women overall.
- 57 percent reported struggling to manage work and family life (compared to 37 percent of women overall).
- 37 percent said the pandemic has increased the amount of care they provide for their children by a lot (compared with 18 percent of women overall).
- With a lot going on at home, Latinas are less interested in the election. Only 4 percent of all respondents said they would definitely not vote — 20 percent of Latinas said the same.
The survey, conducted in early May among 1,000 women registered voters, was done in conjunction with Emerson College Polling and Lake Research Partners. — Abby Johnston
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The pandemic upended child care. It could be devastating for women.
By Amanda Becker
Evie Ebert and her husband are in survival mode when it comes to juggling working from home with caring for their 4- and 1-year-old children.
Ebert, a technologist in higher education, took several weeks of paid leave when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered their day-care and prekindergarten programs in late March. Then she and her husband, a college professor, worked in staggered shifts. When the school year ended, he assumed the role of full-time caregiver.
“We are trying to make arrangements week-to-week and hope to survive that way. But we can’t function this way indefinitely,” Ebert said.
Parents have struggled to find child care during the coronavirus pandemic as many of the day-care and preschool programs attended by some 5 million U.S. children closed or were available to only essential workers. As states reopen their economies, some — such as Maryland, where Ebert lives — have yet to issue a specific plan for child-care facilities. Others have said they can reopen by complying with a patchwork of new safety regulations set by states, cities and counties. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its own set of recommendations this week.
The crisis has pushed the country’s fragile child-care ecosystem to the brink. Facilities in an industry with already-small profit margins struggled to access state and federal aid as first-come, first-served small-business loans ran out. They are now facing costly safety precautions, such as limiting class sizes and purchasing masks, gloves and sanitizing cleaner. Industry groups predict that one-third to half of child-care centers may not reopen at all.
So as parents return to work, there will be fewer available day-care slots and probably higher tuition rates. Decisions will have to be made about the safety risks associated with sending young children into less-controlled environments where social distancing is not possible. There will be calculations about whether older children are able to stay home alone or even help care for younger siblings. And the collapse of the system is likely to be particularly devastating for women’s employment.
Read the full story: The pandemic upended child care. It could be devastating for women. (May 20)
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With new key hire, the Biden campaign signals it is bolstering strategy with black voters
By Errin Haines
Joe Biden has hired Karine Jean-Pierre, a veteran African American political strategist, as a senior adviser to his presidential campaign as the presumptive Democratic nominee pivots to the general election campaign.
Jean-Pierre will advise on strategy, communications and engaging with key communities, including African Americans, women and progressives.
“This really is the most important general election in generations,” Jean-Pierre told The 19th in an exclusive interview Monday night. “I’ve known Joe Biden for 10 years now. I believe he’s a man of integrity, he’s a man who knows how to lead, he’s a man who knows how to use the levers of government to help people and he’s the man who could beat Donald Trump in November. For me, as a black woman, I just could not sit this out.”
Read the full story: Biden campaign adds Karine Jean-Pierre as senior adviser (May 20)
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MISSING IN ACTION
Although the number is gradually increasing, women only represent 16.5 percent of active military personnel, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. Women are also 28 percent more likely to leave the service.
To close the gap, the GAO recommends developing a plan to recruit and retain women. Sexual assault, family planning and dependent care were among the top reasons women gave for leaving the military.
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 What we're reading
Biden asks Amy Klobuchar to undergo vetting as possible running mate. Here we go! Joe Biden, the Democrat’s presumptive nominee for president, told Stephen Colbert Thursday that while "no one's been vetted yet by the team," that they are closing in on getting the process underway. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat and his former challenger for Democratic nominee, is certainly not alone on the shortlist. (CBS, May 21)
Women can’t lead prayers at council meetings, and Bible backs me up, Texas mayor says. The mayor of a small Dallas suburb quoted scripture in his request that a “young man” lead prayers at council meetings. From 1 Corinthians 14:34-35: “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 21)
A campaign milestone: ‘I was drugged and raped’ heard in a candidate’s ad. In a powerful campaign ad, Claire Russo, a Democratic congressional candidate in Virginia, said that she was drugged and raped by a superior at a Marine Corps Ball in 2004. Her superior was never charged. The ad is the first to include a candidate’s personal account of rape. (The New York Times, May 21)
NASA renames next-generation telescope after Nancy Grace Roman. Roman became NASA’s first chief astronomer in 1960, the first woman to hold an executive position there. She earned her nickname the “mother of Hubble” for her work on the Hubble telescope. Now, its successor will bear her name. (Scientific American, May 21)
🎧 Listen: As school districts in the U.S. debate a return to classrooms in the fall, What She Did Next host Jacqui Ooi talks to Ellen Ronalds Keene — founder of the Australian startup Self-Care for Teachers — about health and well-being during COVID and beyond.
📺 Watch: Three years after her death, Norma McCorvey, the anonymous plaintiff in landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade, is making headlines. The documentary “AKA Jane Roe,” which premieres on FX Friday, includes a deathbed confession from McCorvey, who said her public switch to an anti-abortion stance was because she was paid.
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