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An Alabama foundation focused on expanding economic opportunities for women continues to promote its plans to build a more inclusive workforce in all 67 counties during the 2025 legislative session.
The Women’s Foundation of Alabama has outlined data-driven solutions in the EssentiAL Plan to address the barriers that women in Alabama face in the workforce and note their important role in it.
The EssentiAL Plan, launched in 2022, has shaped policies to increase women’s participation in the workforce, ensure equal pay, and support childcare access.
Alabama has one of the country’s lowest female labor participation rates, at only 55 percent, yet women make up nearly half of the state’s workforce. At the same time, women contribute $43 billion to the state’s economy.
The EssentiAL Plan is designed to support women and families while also addressing Alabama’s growing workforce demands. It introduces practical, non-partisan policies that improve women’s economic opportunities and create a more inclusive workforce.
First, it proposes Alabama’s first paid family leave program, which would benefit 1.8 million workers, including 30,000 state employees, who currently lack access to paid leave.
Governor Ivey is calling for eight weeks of paid maternity leave for Alabama teachers and state employees, which could make the state more competitive in recruiting and retaining workers. At this time, the legislation has not been filed.
It also focuses on increasing funding to help over 85,000 families access quality child care, enabling more women to join and stay in the workforce.
“Six years ago, my charge was to bring the Foundation off the sidelines and into the game of public policy. From passage of Alabama’s first Equal Pay Statute, to securing $2.25 million in critical investments to scale our nationally renowned public-private workforce development model preparing women for in-demand careers, to the recent adoption of Alabama’s Child Care Tax Credit plan – this Foundation alongside thousands of women activists and philanthropists have set and won on a powerful agenda,” said Melanie R. Bridgeforth, MSW, President and CEO of Women’s Foundation of Alabama.
Last session, Gov. Ivey signed the “Working for Alabama” legislative package, which included HB358, the child care tax credit bill that was designed to help increase the state’s low labor force participation rate. But at the time, the child care tax credit bill caps the state’s initial investment in the tax credits at $15 million in 2025, plus $5 million for facilities that improve their quality, according to its fiscal note.
There is still work to be done to ensure that childcare providers and employers continue to utilize this tax credit.
The plan emphasizes workforce training programs that connect women to high-wage, in-demand jobs, through student-parent success model.
“But our work is not done. Right now, Alabama lawmakers have an opportunity to write another impactful chapter for women and families by passing Paid Leave legislation championed just last week by Governor Ivey in her State of the State address. This critical step would bring Alabama into alignment with many other Southeastern states and puts us even closer to boosting labor force participation rates for women thus strengthening families,” said Bridgeforth.
