Alexis McGill Johnson speaks on restoring reproductive rights at the 2022 MAKERS Conference (Photo ... [+]
Alexis McGill Johnson, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, is asking everyone to join in on the fight for reproductive rights. From business leaders to junior employees, she says there’s something everyone can do to “get ourselves back into the Constitution.”
“The cavalry is not coming for us because the cavalry is you,” she told the audience at the 2022 Makers Conference yesterday. Johnson continued, “It's not enough to fight to get back to where we were. We need to fight forward to where we want to be.” And she offers suggestions of how everyone can join the fight.
Johnson appealed to business leaders to start taking bold steps and avoid making excuses. She urged them to start by talking to their employees about reproductive rights. But they shouldn’t stop there. In considering where they do business, they should avoid states that don’t align with their values. And when making any political contributions, she asked them to “follow the leads of corporations who say they won't give political contributions to lawmakers who support bans on sexual and reproductive care. That requires risk, and that is a requirement right now.”
But Johnson told me that many leaders have been reluctant to take a stance on this issue. Even those that have taken a strong position on other equity issues are finding excuses when it comes to fighting for reproductive rights. “We've seen incredibly bold stances around the shootings two years ago and the response to Black Lives Matter; we've seen it around democracy and voting reforms; we've seen it around LGBT issues. Why not this issue?” she asked.
There are economic incentives for organizations to take action as well. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that restrictive abortion laws cost state and local economies $105 billion annually by reducing labor force participation and earnings levels and increasing time off and turnover among women ages 15 to 44.
Yet, several excuses emerge when Johnson talks to leaders about why their organizations aren’t taking bolder action on restoring reproductive rights. Some told Johnson they don’t need to discuss reproductive rights with their employees because it’s not an organizational issue. They say it’s a personal issue for the employee.
Johnson argues that if your employee can’t get the care she needs because of public law, it becomes the organization’s issue. “Now you have a worker who has to travel out of state in order to get access to the care that they need. And that could be your frontline worker who's got to drive 400 miles one way and come back.” It’s also an organizational issue because it impacts a company’s ability to recruit and retain talent. One survey found that more than three-quarters of women under age 40 are more likely to want to work for a company that supports abortion access.
Leaders have also told Johnson they fear alienating half of their employees if they take a stance on reproductive rights. Johnson believes this is unlikely, given polls reveal a large majority of the country is in support of abortion rights. “It's important for companies to respect the equality and the bodily autonomy of half of their workforce,” Johnson told me. She urges them to stop finding excuses to avoid bolder action.
And for the majority of people who are not corporate leaders, Johnson recommended, “if you don't know where else to start, just have a conversation. Think about the people you know at work, at your kids’ schools and in your family. Maybe they're reconsidering their position for the first time. Maybe there's a story that they read that they just can't stop thinking about.”
But Johnson told me junior employees are also concerned about speaking out on this issue at work. “We've heard from lower-level employees that they have felt uncomfortable raising the conversation because they worry it will somehow be used against them. So, we have been encouraging senior leaders in C-suite to talk about this issue in the same way they've been talking about all these other issues because it gives people permission—it gives people the courage to bring up their concerns around what's happening,” she said. At the same time, Johnson says she’s been told by those in the C-suite that they’re not hearing from their more junior employees. Clearly, the solution is everyone must start talking more about this issue. It may take courage and require stepping out of comfort zones, but that’s what this issue needs.
For influencers outside of the business world, Johnson urges them to use their platforms to talk about inequality and freedom as well.
Johnson warns that this isn’t going to be an easy fight, telling conference attendees, “Here's the thing. It's also going to be a long game. There are no shortcuts here. The opposition spent the last 50 years suppressing votes, taking over court, shaming patients and threatening providers. So we're going to spend our next 50 years working across all 50 states to organize, to litigate, to expand care through technology and networks and get ourselves back into the Constitution.”
