Mayor Eric Adams’ “Women Forward NYC” plan has gotten lots of people talking, including members of the female-majority City Council.  

Councilmember Jen Gutierrez responded to Adams’ Thursday announcement of Women Forward NYC – a $43 million plan to take on gender equity and invest in gender workforce issues. Gutierrez says that studies and surveys have shown the issue that needs the most attention.  

"The full workforce of women since the pandemic has not returned to work and many of those responses are because they don't have accommodations, because they can't afford child care,” said Gutierrez.  

Mayor Adams says that the city has been working to improve child care from the start, from lowering the cost a family pays for full-time care to increasing the number of kids enrolled in child care to nearly 30,000.  

Councilmember Gutierrez says more can be done, including backtracking previously announced budget cuts to pre-K and 3-K in NYC.  

"More and more New Yorkers value early childhood education and they just want access to it. And if this Mayor does not meet us where we're at in the amount of value and investment that we need, New Yorkers are going to leave as they have been,” said Gutierrez.  

Gutierrez has a bill proposal that seeks universal child care. It was first introduced last year and she says she plans to reintroduce it soon.