News & Stories
Policy is personal. So, we want to share more than just data.
Stay up to date with our legislative updates, organizational news, media mentions, and more.
Dawn Cofone was only 16 years old when she began working with children at Spokane-area childcare facilities. So in the early 90’s, she began attending classes and training sessions to learn more about how to foster the education and development of the children in her care. She worked hard and went to school, often full-time. […]
My friend invited my wife and me to celebrate her husband’s 70th birthday. We enjoyed an evening of great food and wine, stories of the past and hopes for the future. The stories of the past were such powerful American anecdotes that we all thought that my friends should write up their family histories. But […]
With headlights on, seatbelts fastened, and car games ready to go, last Thursday we drove off into the horizon at our annual fundraising event, Road Trip: Equity Ahead! A crowd of over 300 attended in support of the Economic Opportunity Institute’s work to build an economy that works for everyone Washington state. With road maps […]
The campaign for president is getting most of the media attention this year, but we have other important decisions to make as voters this November. Among the initiatives on the ballot is Initiative 1433, also known as RaiseUp Washington. This initiative will put in place minimum standards for paid sick days across the state and […]
If the gender pay gap continues to close at its current rate, women will reach pay equity with men in 2059, according to a new report from the American Association of University Women. Called The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap, the report finds full-time working women are slowly closing the disparity, making about […]
Have you claimed your spot for Road Trip: Equity Ahead, happening Thursday, September 22nd? You have seven more days to buy your ticket! Please join us to celebrate our shared successes, enjoy delicious food and drinks, and welcome our keynote speaker, Saru Jayaraman, nationally renowned worker justice advocate. And of course, we’ll have fun policy […]
August 26 commemorated Women’s Equality Day, the date in 1920 when women won the Constitutional right to vote in the United States. This year the date had a little more emotional kick with a woman running for the first time as a serious contender for the Presidency. But it’s taken nearly a full century to […]
I had a good Labor Day weekend. I hope you did too. It was a good respite. Now we should be able to endure the final two months of the presidential campaign. Along with the fall weather, and the days getting shorter, our kids are back at school reading, writing, running, talking, thinking and learning. […]
SEATTLE — The Evergreen State has room for improvement when it comes to protecting working families, according to a new report. The National Partnership for Women and Families gave Washington a “B-minus” grade in a recent study assessing states’ workplace policies to protect expectant and new parents – including paid family leave and workplace accommodations […]
I recently joined the EOI team as one of the summer Policy Interns following my graduation from University of Washington with a Master’s in Public Health! In addition to my regular duties, I recently had the opportunity to attend the Summer Institute on Union Women hosted by the UCLA Labor Center from August 9 to […]
If you work in downtown Seattle, you can’t ignore the construction. Eight years ago construction ground to a halt, with big pits filling up with rain water. Now every street seems to be an obstacle course, as front loaders run amok and traffic cops try to sort out construction from commuting. But we shouldn’t get […]
Back in 1932, Washington citizens jettisoned the Republican state treasurer and voted in a Democrat for the job of minding the state’s public monies. Since then, the people have elected and re-elected Democrats to the treasurer’s office, over and over again, except for one election in 1952. So it made sense that coming out of […]
We are in the season of party conventions. You may have watched the Republicans in Cleveland last week and you may be watching the Democrats in Philadelphia this week. Maybe you didn’t, and opted to watch “Scandal,” or, if you are a bicyclist, perhaps the Tour de France. For us in Washington, the national conventions […]
State Sen. Pam Roach, R-Sumner, made it into the political news recently. The FBI has been looking into her campaign fundraising. What is strange is that Sen. Roach has said out loud what everyone walking the halls of the state Capitol knows: There is an intimate connection between campaign contributions, lobbying and legislators’ decisions on […]
These days, the Fourth of July seems mostly to be about barbeques, beer and fireworks – all for the celebration of freedom. That’s the popular narrative for the birth of our country. But the truth is, the United States had many parents. Democracy was one. Slavery was another, property a third, patriarchy a fourth, and […]
What’s ahead, what the candidates say, and a forecast for Medicare [By Chris Farrell via Next Avenue] Social Security’s recently released 2016 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees on the system’s financial condition is 272 pages long and a doorstop. The report is dense, full of detailed tables and conservative projections — a policy wonk’s […]
SEATTLE – Kids and families in Washington state have made some progress in the face of poverty rates that have yet to improve, according to the new national 2016 KIDS COUNT® Data Book from the Annie. E. Casey Foundation. Washington is ranked 15th among the 50 states in the Data Book, moving up four places in […]
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It was a privilege to be invited to attend the White House Summit on the United State of Women, held July 14-15 in Washington, DC. Just being in a room with 5,000 people – mostly women – who are working to promote the economic and political empowerment of women and girls across the country was […]
Forty years ago we could point to the sham elections of the Soviet Union and laugh. These were one-party affairs, with one candidate for each position on the ballot. Voting support ranged between 99 and 100 percent. Now fast-forward to the upcoming legislative elections in Washington state in 2016. There are 124 legislative seats up […]