The full episode transcript and episode notes are live now on Ms. magazine. Listen and subscribe to Looking Back, Moving Forward wherever you get your podcasts!

Women have experienced multiple economic upheavals since the founding of Ms., but one thing remains true: economic inequity is still shaping women’s lives — especially for women of color, LGBTQ women, women with disabilities, and low-income women. Ms. has long given voice to the economic disparities women face, and the nuances within our economic experiences along intersectional lines. 

This episode of “Looking Back, Moving Forward” traces the transformation of women’s economic experiences over the last 50 years, zooming in on workplace discrimination, women’s unpaid domestic and care burdens, and the factors pushing women disproportionately into poverty — revealing how the system seeks to devalue all of “women’s work,” and what feminists are doing about it.

Featured in this episode:

• Premilla Nadasen, history professor at Barnard College and author of Household Workers Unite: The Untold Story of African American Women Who Built a Movement and Care: The Highest Stage of Capitalism. Follow her on Instagram and Threads and read her work in Ms.
• Rakeen Mabud, economic expert and independent consultant. Follow her on Bluesky and Twitter and read her work in Ms.
• Lenore Palladino, economist, lawyer, and associate professor of economics and public policy at UMass Amherst. Follow her on Bluesky and read her work in Ms.
• Aisha Nyandoro, founding CEO of Springboard to Opportunities, which is home to the Magnolia Mother’s Trust. Follow her on Instagram, follow Springboard on Instagram and Threads, and read her work in Ms.
• Gaylynn Burroughs, Vice President for Education & Workplace Justice at the National Women’s Law Center. Follow NWLC on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram and read her work in Ms.
• Dolores Huerta, legendary labor organizer and feminist leader and founder of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. Follow her on Instagram and connect with the Foundation on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
• And your host, Carmen Rios, feminist superstar and Ms. consulting editor. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky and read her work in Ms.