The U.S. is the only developed country in the world that does not have a national paid leave policy, and around 40 million Americans do not get paid sick days.
Those are just a few of the issues that are hindering gender equality in the workplace, according to Valerie Jarrett, former senior adviser to President Obama.
“Women are graduating from college at higher rates, and graduate schools at even higher rates, than men. So the pipeline [of qualified employees] is there,” Jarrett told Cheddar in an interview at SXSW in Austin, Tex.
“We just have to make sure that the pipeline continues into the workplace and up to the highest level within organizations. There is a glass ceiling there.”
Since leaving the White House, Jarrett is now focused on tackling these issues, and she’s drawing from her own experiences to do it.
“Part of it is my life experience as a single mom trying to balance my responsibilities in a pretty high-powered career with the most important thing to me, which is to be a good mother,” Jarrett revealed.
“That experience really informed a lot of the work that I did at the White House...and the work that I’m doing going forward.”
The Democrat supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, but despite her loss Jarrett is optimistic that things can still change. She believes in encouraging culture changes at the top of companies and actions at the state level.
“There’s so much that we can do that doesn’t involve the federal government,” said Jarrett. “States and private employers around the country, cities, are now passing...important laws.”
“We need to recognize that our voices are going to offer a different perspective and that’s important. You make better decisions when you’re talking to people who see the world from a different lens.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/valerie-jarretts-next-act).
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
The Supreme Court is allowing Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok.
A new report finds the Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue are bouncing back sharply before the opening bell a day after President Donald Trump promoted unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism. Trump told pregnant women not to use the painkiller around a dozen times during the White House news conference Monday. The drugmaker tumbled 7.5%. Shares have regained most of those losses early Tuesday in premarket trading.
