Katherine Gallagher Robbins, Senior Policy Analyst

This morning's Census data signal positive growth in manufacturing, but there's a hidden part of this story that new NWLC analysis of jobs data reveals: women are being left behind. 

The Census data show that new durable goods orders were up in February and that orders have increased five of the last six months. But women are not sharing in this manufacturing recovery: 

• Manufacturing added 517,000 net jobs from January 2010 to February 2013. Men gained 535,000 jobs, while women actually lost 18,000 jobs. 
• This trend is not a correction for men's recession losses — during the recession men and women both experienced manufacturing job losses proportionate to their share of the field. 

Yesterday I had the opportunity to take part in a press conference held by several Congresswomen on what the budget proposed by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) would do to women and their families (that’s me standing in front of the flag!).

We’ve previously highlighted the ways the Ryan budget would harm women, like dismantling Medicaid and repealing the ACA; deeply cutting funding for programs like child care, Head Start, education and job training; and providing lavish tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations.

The event, held by Representatives Donna F. Edwards (D-MD), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), addressed these harmful policy proposals in another way - by showing the human cost of these cuts.