JFF President and CEO Maria Flynn and Senior Director Mary Clagett were among the co-authors of a January 22 op-ed in Real Clear Policy about how the Biden administration should respond to the profound labor market challenges facing the nation.

Submitted by the Better Employment and Training Strategies Task Force—whose members include Clagett and JFF Senior Advisor Eric Seleznow—the column noted that longstanding employment inequities have been exacerbated by the economic and health care crises caused by the pandemic and “are growing more complex amid increasingly rapid changes in technology and labor markets.” To address those issues, task force members argued, the new administration must accelerate short-term recovery and modernize federal policies that promote workforce and economic development.

While acknowledging that Biden’s Build Back Better pandemic recovery plan includes significant investments in infrastructure development, public service jobs to fight the pandemic, and the education and care sectors, the task force members noted that the plan “risks missing out on investments that prepare long disadvantaged workers for opportunities created through stimulus.”

“A deliberate investment in systems and institutions that foster job creation, ensure effective training, and address the needs of those who have been set back by the current crisis, especially women, workers of color, and young adults, will be essential if we are to truly Build Back Better,” they said.