August 26th marked Women’s Equality Day, celebrating the 95th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. Every year on Women’s Equality Day, 9to5 holds a National Day of Action to fight for family-friendly workplace practices from coast to coast. On Women’s Equality Day, we honor those who have fought for progress, but we must also turn our attention to what still needs to be done to support working women and their families in Colorado and across the country.

Lin Nestler is a 9to5 member in Colorado. She was working for a large health insurance company – one that prides itself on “work-life balance” – when she got a call that her daughter went through a very serious childbirth that was nearly fatal to her and her new baby. Lin was able to use the Family Medical Leave Act and some accrued vacation time to go care for her daughter.

But within a month of going back to work, Lin suffered a personal injury that required six surgeries. And one month after recovering from her own injury, her father grew very ill and needed to have heart surgery. After his surgery, Lin arranged for him to be discharged under hospice care at home, with herself as his primary caregiver.

While caring for her father, Lin had no income, as FMLA was unpaid and only protected her job. She cashed out her 401K in order to buy groceries and gas. She had to pay bills with credit cards, and even sold all her jewelry and other valuables to try and make it through.

“But this was nothing compared to the pain of watching my dad fade away,” Lin told 9to5. “This is what families do. They care for each other and support each other by any means necessary. Just as he held my hand as I took my first steps in this world, it was time for me to hold his hand as he took his first steps into the next.”

Lin’s father lived just long enough for her to lose her job. Lin had to sell her house, and her family now lives in an RV because they could not and still cannot afford the cost of rent, utilities and deposits. It took her another five months to get a job and get back to work.

“In this economy, I still consider myself one of the lucky ones,” Lin said. “But I went eight months without a single paycheck, and my bills are no longer manageable even now that I have an income. Paid family and medical leave would have made a huge difference for me and my family, but now bankruptcy looms.”

Making sure that workers can take care of sick children and elders without losing their jobs or getting their paycheck docked must be a priority for a country that values families. There are currently two bills before Congress that would provide vital support to employees who are recovering from illness, providing critical care to ill family members, and welcoming the arrival of a new baby. The Healthy Families Act would allow employees across the country to earn paid sick days, and the FAMILY Act would create a family and medical leave insurance program. Both bills ensure that employees are able to keep their jobs and their paychecks when facing serious illnesses.

Sen. Michael Bennet recently announced his co-sponsorship of the Healthy Families Act, making him the only senator from Colorado to support the legislation. We applaud Sen. Bennet for taking this first step in support of women and family caregivers, and we urge him to continue the trend by also signing on as a co-sponsor of the FAMILY Act.

When women make up more than two-thirds of family and informal caregivers, passing family-flexible policies is essential to strengthening our communities, protecting public health, and boosting the economy. When an employee like Lin is forced to go to work instead of caring for her dying father or get docked the income she’s counting on to pay rent, it affects us all. Workplace policies like paid sick days and paid family and medical leave are crucial victories along the path to winning gender equality.

Erin Bennett is the Colorado director of 9to5, a 42-year-old national membership-based organization working to improve the workplace for women and their families. She’s also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Senate District 31.