In the United States, policy is too often written in boardrooms and backrooms—far from the lived realities of everyday women. The result? A patchwork of legislation that looks good on paper but fails in practice, especially for low-income women, women of color, and mothers on the margins.
Wealth-washed policymaking is a quiet crisis. It’s the reason a Black woman in Mississippi dies from pregnancy-related causes at rates four times higher than her white counterparts. It’s why child care remains unaffordable even after sweeping federal proposals. It’s why a woman working two jobs can’t afford a one-bedroom apartment in 93% of American counties. And it’s why bipartisan legislation that could change lives often stalls—because those most affected aren’t in the room.
When policies are shaped by privilege rather than the people, they reflect assumptions—not lived experience. They prioritize corporate interests over community needs, economic growth over equity, and political wins over human lives.
We need a radical shift: one that centers women who live at the intersection of poverty, race, and gender. This means investing in maternal health, enacting paid leave policies rooted in reality, and listening to women not as a demographic to court—but as experts in their own survival.
The stakes are life and death. It’s time we stop asking whether the system is broken and start asking: who was it ever built for? If the answer isn’t all of us, then it’s time to reform it.
Subscribe to our list to read the full article.
Leave a Reply