At the start of the pandemic, women in Nebraska and across the U.S. were the first to exit the workforce. A new survey from the Institute for Women's Policy Research could offer a roadmap for employers to get more women back to work, and ensure that they can remain on the job.

Nicole Mason, president and CEO of the institute, said there is a significant gap between what women say they want and what employers are currently offering.

"Higher pay, health insurance and workplace flexibility are top among the desired benefits for women who are re-entering the workforce," said Mason.

Between March and May of 2020, more than 12 million women lost jobs or stayed home to care for family members and supervise children.

When considering future jobs, nearly nine in ten surveyed women report a living wage and health insurance to be "very important" or "important" benefits. More than eight in ten women cite retirement benefits and job security as key factors.

Even after the pandemic exposed how critical it is for sick workers to be able to stay home, paid sick and family leave remains an elusive benefit for many working women.

More than one third of women surveyed working full-time do not have paid sick leave. Mason said close to 70% fear they could lose their job if they have to take time off due to illness or to care for a family member.

"But for many lower-wage workers, especially workers employed in the hardest hit sectors, they do not have paid sick leave," said Mason. "So not being able to come to work one day can jeopardize their jobs."

More than six in ten women surveyed consider control of their schedules to be "very important" or "important." Mason said lessons learned during the pandemic show that working remotely and allowing scheduling flexibility works, and does not negatively impact worker productivity.

"And I think we have an opportunity to try to create a win-win proposition for both employers and employees," said Mason. "And to create workplaces that work for all workers, not just a small fraction of them."

Texas soon will enact one of the strictest abortion bans in the country - and a majority of voters don't like it.

Three out of four - 77% of the state's registered voters - would prefer a less severe abortion policy, according to polling by the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs.

Senior Research Associate there Mark Jones said while there were some significant differences between Republicans and Democrats, most voters think the previously passed House Bill 1280 goes too far.

"If we're thinking of the average Texan," said Jones, "their preference is either that abortion only be permitted if the woman's life is in danger, or in the case of rape or incest, also for six weeks for any reason."

Texas is one of several states with a "trigger law" set to take effect 30 days after the Supreme Court issues a formal judgment after overturning Roe v. Wade in May.

The Texas law does not include exceptions for rape or incest, and only allows an abortion if a pregnancy would kill or cause severe injury to the person carrying the child.

Jones said about half of those polled on abortion don't agree with the state's "trigger law."

"If Republican lawmakers had included providing an exception in the case of rape or incest," said Jones, "then they'd pretty much be in line where the average Texas voter is."

The poll also found a majority of voters would support expanding services for those pregnant and their babies, including funding for pregnancy and prenatal care, new born classes, foster care and adoption services. Jones said they also support paying for those.

"Hopefully," said Jones, "the Legislature will at least say, 'OK, if we are going to have this policy related to abortion, we will invest more money so the financial burden or the time burden is ameliorated somewhat.'"

The poll was conducted after the Supreme Court's decision was handed down and included 1,069 respondents who are registered to vote in Texas.

COVID-19 has touched just about every facet of life, and a new report from the Center for Responsible Lending says women repaying student loans have been hit especially hard.

The report says in particular, the pandemic exacerbated the financial instability of women of color, reducing their ability to repay their student-loan debt.

Report coauthor Sunny Glottman - a researcher with the Center for Responsible Lending - said in part, it's a racial equity issue - and even the temporary pause in student-loan repayment hasn't been enough to help many women catch up.

"One of the biggest things that happened was folks were losing their jobs," said Glottman. "And whether it was they were losing their jobs because they were furloughed, because their company was struggling to keep its doors open; whether it was because they were working in a high-contact job and had someone at home who was immunocompromised."

The report also says Black and Latina women have shown "immense resiliency" in tough financial times. But it found most don't feel prepared to resume their loan payments without some difficulty.

The federal pause on student-loan repayment ends August 31.

The report recommends an across-the-board student-debt cancellation of $50,000 per borrower. In the meantime, Glottman said putting these payments on hold has absolutely helped women of color.

"Having one less bill to pay - your student loan monthly payment - was a huge help," said Glottman. "I think our researchers were looking at whether these Black women will be better prepared to resume making payments, which I think is an argument that is not necessarily true."

The report also says what is known as the Income-Driven Repayment or IDR plan may not be a good option for some women. The IDR promises cancellation of student debt after 20 or 25 years of repayment, but fewer than 200 people have had their loans forgiven.

Glottman said there may be a way to improve the program.

"So actually, one of our recommendations is to apply IDR retroactively - so, implemented in a retroactive, income-driven repayment waiver," said Glottman. "So, what that would do is say, 'If you've been doing the right thing, in years past, you should be able to qualify for income-driven repayment.'"

She added that women carry about two-thirds of the $1.7 trillion federal student debt. And Black women are more than twice as likely as white men to owe more than $50,000 in undergraduate debt.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

Abortion is set to be prohibited in Idaho at the end of July after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last week.

The justices ruled that the 50-year precedent of Roe should be overruled, setting off so-called "trigger laws" in 13 states, including Idaho.

Kim Clark is senior attorney for reproductive rights, health, and justice with the Pacific Northwest organization Legal Voice. She said there will be some out-of-state options for Idahoans seeking access to abortions.

"Abortion funds across the country, including the Northwest Abortion Access Fund here in Washington," said Clark, "are ready to provide support to people who need to travel across state lines to access care, and I think there will be other informal networks of support."

Conservatives have celebrated the decision. In a statement, Idaho Gov. Brad Little said the right to an abortion was a "judicial creation."

Idaho's ban makes providing abortions a felony. There are exemptions for cases of incest and rape, although victims will have to provide a police report to a physician, which can take several weeks to obtain.

States where abortion will remain legal, including Washington and Oregon, are expected to see large increases from the number of people seeking care there. Clark said providers in those states will be burdened with the increase in traffic.

"The other place where folks can help out," said Clark, "is in supporting providers in safe haven states who will be stepping up to absorb a great deal of uncompensated care as folks come into those states for access to care."

Idaho legislators passed another law this session similar to a ban in Texas that allows civil lawsuits against health professionals who provide abortion. That law has been blocked but the Idaho Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the case on August 3.

Clark said while these laws make getting an abortion much harder, they won't go away completely in Idaho

"The reality is that no action that the Idaho Legislature takes will ban abortion in Idaho," said Clark. "People will still access care."