During the launch of the latest Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink, we asked #WhatWomenNeed to push back from the brink of financial insecurity and improve their lives, as well as the lives of their children and families who depend on them. Women – and men – shared their ideas on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook using the #WhatWomenNeed hashtag. Several women also wrote in to share their personal stories. Here is one woman’s story.  → Read More

When we talk about the struggles low-wage workers face, it may seem obvious that their biggest problem is low wages. However, scheduling challenges fundamentally exacerbate the struggle. In an interview with Women Employed (WE), a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) from Chicago described her situation: “[If the number of patients on the unit] goes down to ten, they call one or two of the CNAs around 4:30 in the morning and their shift will get cancelled for the day. It affects the monthly budget. I pay for daycare, gas, food and I’ll struggle to see how I’m going to make ends meet.”  → Read More

GlobalGirl Reporters in Los Angeles perform an original poem about what it means to “be on the brink” as a teenage girl.  → Read More

As we set about doing the work of building content for The Shriver Report over the past two years, we set some ambitious goals for our team. Not only would we strive to be a voice of urgency – identifying the precarious economic situation of a full third of American women as a problem worth solving – but to challenge ourselves and our partners actively to engage in solving this problem.  → Read More

Ever since the social safety net was first conceived as a response to the Great Depression, American policymakers have attempted to balance two goals: reducing poverty while at the same time limiting dependence on government benefits. Family Rewards offers cash incentives to poor families in order to reduce immediate hardship and poverty. The payments are conditional upon families meeting very specific benchmarks in very specific areas: children’s school performance, family preventive health care, and parents’ work and training.  → Read More