As New Jersey recovers from COVID-19, let us leave no woman behind | Opinion

No doubt, the pandemic has caused an unprecedented fiscal challenge for the state of New Jersey. As Gov. Phil Murphy and the Legislature work on adopting a state budget that reflects our new reality, I urge them, in the words of Abigail Adams, to “Remember the ladies ...” A budget is, at its heart, an expression of a society’s priorities, and therefore New Jersey’s spending plan must reflect our state’s progressive values.

The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has hit women, particularly women of color, disproportionately. In April, the majority of jobs lost were held by women. Women are more likely to hold jobs in industries like retail, hospitality and medical offices that have been shuttered as a result of mandatory business closures and social-distancing. And because women make less than their male counterparts, they are less likely to have the financial resources to outlast the recession brought on by the pandemic.

This creates a snowball effect. Women are more likely to forgo necessary medical care as layoffs continue. They are at greater risk of losing their homes to foreclosure and eviction. The state’s domestic violence shelters are nearly at capacity as women cut off from extended social networks face increased danger of domestic violence. Now, when they are most needed, the tattered social safety nets that these women rely on are stretched to their limit. The 2021 budget must preserve funding for crucial programs that serve our most vulnerable residents — such as health care, housing assistance and education.

Murphy’s proposal to take advantage of historically low interest rates to borrow money would tide the state over while the economy recovers. Trenton should indeed take maximum advantage of the Federal Reserve’s new program to stabilize state and local governments facing pandemic-induced revenue shortfalls.

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For eight years, the working families of New Jersey found themselves pushed aside by the austerity forced on our state by the former administration. In the last two years, the state has finally begun to prioritize their needs. We cannot afford to walk back the progress our state has made in increasing access to health care, expanding pre-K and ensuring food security for low-income residents.

Working with legislative leaders, Murphy restored critical funding for Planned Parenthood’s reproductive health services that had been repeatedly vetoed by former Gov. Chris Christie and further aggravated by the Trump administration’s Title X Gag Rule. First Lady Tammy Murphy’s initiatives to improve outcomes for African-American maternal and infant health, led to the expansion of the state medicaid program to include coverage for doula care.

Funding to provide support for domestic violence victims is at an all-time high, thanks to the work of Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg and Assembly Budget Chair Eliana Pintor Marin. And Assembly Speaker Coughlin has pushed a package of bills to close the hunger gap by increasing resources to food banks, tackling the problem of food deserts and strengthening free — and reduced-breakfast and lunch programs that serve our neediest schoolchildren.

All of these gains would be jeopardized by a bare-bones budget that cuts services at a time when New Jersey residents, especially women, need increased support to withstand the economic and social crisis the pandemic has sparked.

Private non-profits, whose budgets are being strained by both skyrocketing need and serious fiscal challenges, can’t do it alone. In just one example, shelters and food banks must rely on donations to provide menstrual products to residents struggling financially. Only government can marshal the resources necessary to address this and other challenges.

Our state is facing an unprecedented crisis, and we need to take advantage of every tool at our disposal to weather the current storm. While borrowing should never be the first choice of responsible governments in normal times, this is hardly a normal time.

A pullback of state resources now would only extend the economic fallout of the pandemic while deepening the pain faced by New Jersey’s women and their families. Even as we face the challenge of the present crisis, we must commit to an equitable recovery.

Anjali Mehrotra is president of the National Organization for Women of New Jersey.