VP Kamala Harris has a strong message for American women | USA TODAY

Vice President Kamala Harris shares concern for how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted women and the importance of addressing that disparity. RELATED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCXBBW2ANPg The pandemic has been "devastating" for women, especially women of color, Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday in an interview with USA TODAY. "I think that the pandemic has exposed the failures, the fractures, the fissures that have long existed in our society, and it has made them bigger and more obvious," she said. The yearlong pandemic has only magnified America’s gender inequalities, all while stifling the decades of progress women have made. Women are leaving the workforce in alarming numbers. Female entrepreneurs find their shops shuttered or empty. Burdened with the brunt of child care responsibilities while children are learning from home, Black and Latina women in particular are falling deeper into poverty. Harris characterizes the regression as a “national emergency.” She said the country needs a commitment to universal paid sick leave and paid family leave, and "child care needs to be affordable and available." » Subscribe to USA TODAY: http://bit.ly/1xa3XAh » Watch more on this and other topics from USA TODAY: https://bit.ly/2Vq6Nnq » USA TODAY delivers current local and national news, sports, entertainment, finance, technology, and more through award-winning journalism, photos, videos and VR. #KamalaHarris #VPHarris #USATODAY