As the eyes of the press and public try to peer around the curtain surrounding the Obama transition team, women's and reproductive rights advocates feel a certain confidence. Karen Kornbluh, formerly Obama's Senate policy director, is the point person for women's issues during the interim period. Kornbluh has long been tagged by the press as one of the "brains" behind the Obama juggernaut. 

"It's a marvelous signal," says Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority. "She's a strong extremely knowledgeable on women's rights issues and women's issues." 

Before being hired by Obama early on for his Senate office, Kornbluh was known in DC policy circles for her essays on work-family balance--an issue that shouldn't be relegated to "women's issues" but often is. She coined the term "juggler families" describing families that rely on incomes from two working parents or one single parent: in other words, there's no one at home taking care of the kids, and every dollar coming in is necessary to maintain the household. 

"We're delighted that Karen is on the Obama team," says Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, president of advocacy group Momsrising. "We really think she understands the shared struggles of working families, and in particular the struggles of moms.  It can't be overestimated how important the economic struggles of moms are." 

Balancing Act 

While Kornbluh's primary focus has been on economic issues facing women, she did oversee the drafting of the Democratic party's platform this year, which included a strong affirmation of reproductive rights from contraception and comprehensive sex ed to support for mothers and pregnant women, to solid support for abortion rights. 

Both "abortion reduction" religious groups and reproductive health groups felt the wording was a victory, which may point to Kornbluh's ability, like her boss, to be inclusive without compromising her agenda.  

Laurie Rubiner, Planned Parenthood's Vice-President for Public Policy, says that process earned Kornbluh plaudits from the community and assurance of her deep comprehension of the issues. "She's incredibly thoughtful and strategic and very smart," says Rubiner. "When she  wrote the Democratic platform she did a tremendous job balancing all considerations and putting together formidable document. It says a lot, as she has quite a balancing act to do." 

A List of Prescriptions for Working Families 

When it comes to actual solutions for families, Kornbluh has a clear and comprehensive prescription--with programs that go as far as many advocates' wilder dreams. She written extensively about what a system that gave equal opportunities to working families would look like.: 

Reforms should include citizen-based health insurance, subsidized by income; progressive retirement accounts; new refundable, tax-subsidized accounts to help parents save for the expenses of having a family; universal pre-K and after-school programs; and childcare subsidies and workplaces that do not penalize parents who need flexibility to care for kids. 

But on the same level, Korbluh has demonstrated the process that leads to these reforms is a nuanced one, that image matters and that sweeping reforms are a process. On the question of whether work-family balance and parental leave should be framed as a "mother's issue," she told an interviewer in a 2005 article in Brain Child magazine: 

"I do think it's still important to keep mothers in the title... Mothers are the ones up in the night worrying about what's going to happen to them if they divorce and they're left with a big gaping hole in their Social Security. At the same time, men must start taking their family leave, demanding part-time jobs and childcare before we'll see real change."  

Setting priorities 

As Obama and his staff gets ready to take office, and the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate prep their legislation, Kornbluh, the staff and others are assessing what to prioritize, and women's groups are eager to get cracking. 

One reproductive rights bill that may be out of reach until the next election, however, is the Freedom of Choice Act, which, although supported by Obama, would eliminate the obstacles states have put in place for women getting abortions. 

"We have 43 solid pro-choice votes. Even if the resolution of both of the outstanding Senate races went our way, we don't have the votes to pass it. That's the reality. It's not because it's not something we care about," says Rubiner of Planned Parenthood. 

As for bills like the REAL Act and the Prevention First act, which seek to expand contraception access and introduce comprehensive sex ed (and of which Barack Obama was a sponsor), Rubiner is more optimistic, saying the tone of the election would benefit the bill as a non-nonsense, solutions-oriented bill. "There's real strong support in congress for that, supporters on both sides of the aisle," says Rubiner.  

Rowe-Finkbeiner and Smeal both add that a quick passage of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program are huge boosts for women that could go through congress and get signed into law fairly quickly. 

Momsrising's other priorities are state funding for the Family and Medical Leave Insurance as part of any economic stimulus package, and passage of the Healthy Families Act, which ensures paid sick days, and eliminating waiting periods for immigrant women and children in the process of expanding SCHIP and health care access.  

Smeal of the Feminist Majority added that the most important thing the Obama administration could do was start reversing as many of the Bush administrations executive orders and mitigating the effect of midnight appointments. On the international front, she hopes the Obama administration will release funds for UNFPA and reverse the Global Gag Rule. 

"In the first 6 months, the damage can be repaired preferably with a bang, right at the beginning." Kornbluh, she adds, "knows the policies and can hit the ground running." 

More articles by Kornbluh: 

The Joy of Flex in the "Washington Monthly"