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Before we move on to our normal content, we’d like to take a moment to remember Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and the other victims of last week's violence. We encourage you to continue the conversation and take action against anti-black violence: read, donate, campaign, and get involved.

Here are five things you need to know this week to make your life better at work and at home:

Working on care

Half of child care workers receive public assistance. Their median hourly wage is only $9.77. And no state in the U.S. is making sufficient progress in supporting quality early care and education and the workers who provide it — even as consensus grows about the importance of early childhood. These are just a few of the findings from the Early Childhood Workforce Index, a new report from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) at the University of California, Berkeley. The report provides the first-ever comprehensive analysis of early childhood employment policies, state-by-state. Check out their interactive map to see how your state is doing and where it can improve.

 Parenting in America

Not only is it hard to be a child care worker in the United States, it’s hard to be a parent, too. Many American parents fret that they’re doing it all wrong, and one trendy piece of advice is to look to Europe for parenting inspiration — but, as Laura June argues in The Cut, you can’t parent like a French mom without French family policy. Some groups have special challenges: Anne-Marie Slaughter discusses the obstacles student-parents face, and Avra Siegel writes about the difficulties of working while pregnant. Luckily, there’s significant support — across the political spectrum — for paid family leave. The new coalition Pledge Parental Leave is asking creative companies to step up. And in Silicon Valley, paid leave could be the next disruption.

The glass cliff

On Wednesday, Theresa May became the United Kingdom’s second female prime minister, in what some are calling an example of the “glass cliff”: putting women in leadership positions following crises, when they are doomed to fail. And she’s only one of several women leaders in the UK who are cleaning up Brexit’s mess.

Though gender came to the fore in the race for prime minister, gender may not matter as much as we think it does in most campaigns (at least in the U.S.). Danny Hayes and Jennifer Lawless visited New America recently to discuss their research on why gender bias doesn’t matter in elections and the real reason women are underrepresented in politics. If you missed the event, check out Chayenne Polimédio’s take on the discussion and watch the recording.

Women in the (dysfunctional) workplace

Most people who have ever worked in an office are all too familiar with the toxic workplace — but is there something uniquely bad about female-dominated work environments? Jessica Winter takes on that provocative question, and more, in an interview about her new novel Break in Case of Emergency. Continue the conversation with us tonight, when Jessica is at New America to discuss her book!

From the Global Gender Parity Initiative: beyond the numbers

Representation of women in government is a laudable goal, but it doesn’t mean much if they don’t have a voice. Watch Nomfundo Walaza discuss the need to evaluate women’s impact in decision-making and why quotas aren’t enough.

Upcoming Better Life Lab Events: Join Us!

TODAY, July 14: Break in Case of Emergency. Jessica Winter's new novel Break in Case of Emergency tells a hilarious and incisive story about the struggle to survive a toxic workplace and build a meaningful life as a woman in 21st-century America. Join us for a happy hour conversation with Winter, along with panelists Latifa Lyles and Rebecca Rosen and moderator Josh Levin, on feminism and work-life balance in policy and pop culture.

​That's a wrap for this week! We'll look forward to seeing your inbox again soon. Have a great week! 

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About New America

New America is dedicated to the renewal of American politics, prosperity, and purpose in the Digital Age. Our hallmarks are big ideas, pragmatic policy solutions, technological innovation, and creative engagement with broad audiences. Read the rest of our story, or see what we've been doing recently in our latest Annual Report.

About the Better Life Lab

New America’s Breadwinning & Caregiving Program is thrilled to unveil a new name, the Better Life Lab, and an updated agenda to transform policy and culture so that people and families have the opportunity to live their best lives at work and at home. As a “lab,” we are dedicated to disruptive experiments, collaborative work, and innovative thinking.

“Your Life, Better: News From the Better Life Lab” will be our way to keep you in the know, featuring the best of what we’re reading and writing about gender equity, the evolution of work, and social policies that support 21st-century families. We will be a clear signal amid the noise to share what’s fresh and crucial to an inclusive vision of work-life, gender, and income equity issues.

Meet the Better Life Lab Team

Better Life Lab

Real choices. Real parity. All people.