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Reproduced from Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics; Note: States with top-two or top-four primary systems were also excluded; Map: Axios Visuals

More than half of all state political campaign donors in Texas are women, but their contributions only account for one-fifth of total donations, per a new analysis.

Driving the news: While 51% of contributors in Texas were women, their money made up just 20% of state-level candidate donations in 2022, according to a new report on the gender "donor gap" from Rutgers' Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP).

Women donors across the country made up 29% to 33% of the contributions to general election candidates at statewide and state legislative levels between 2019 and 2022, writes Axios' Emma Hurt.

Why it matters: While women are registered to vote at higher rates than men, they remain disproportionately absent from the halls of political power — and from the political donations that fuel those halls.

Women lawmakers took 54 of the 181 seats at the Texas Capitol this year, 30% of the seats, according to the Texas Tribune.

Among the nine House members representing Austin, however, seven are women, and all three state senators representing Austin are women.

What's happening: The underrepresentation of women candidates and donors are entwined, Kira Sanbonmatsu, a Rutgers political science professor and the report's lead researcher, told Axios.

"We're not able to disentangle which comes first ... it's a mutually reinforcing relationship," she said.

It also is inextricable from a persistent gender wealth gap, she said.

Of note: Female donors on both sides of the aisle disproportionately support women candidates, according to the report.

However, the pattern is stronger among Democratic women. For example, women donors accounted for 49% of the money given to Democratic women statehouse candidates, compared to 36% of contributions to male candidates.

For Republican women statehouse members, meanwhile, women donors accounted for 29% of total donations, compared to 21% of the money given to men.

Reality check: Among women candidates, another funding disparity exists along racial lines.

In 2022 gubernatorial non-incumbent primaries, white women received more contributions than those from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, the report points out.

"The campaign finance space yields similar challenges for people of color regardless of gender," Sanbonmatsu told Axios.

What we're watching: There's a "need for some new strategies and new mobilization ideas" to rectify the gender gap, Sanbonmatsu said.

That includes trying to activate new donors and untapped sources of candidate funding support.

"Women are voting," she said. "They're interested in politics. They're engaged. They maybe haven't been recruited yet in this capacity."

Dig deeper: Political donations across the country

The gender gap in Texas politics extends to campaign donations

While 51% of contributors in Texas were women, their money made up just 20% of state-level candidate donations in 2022.

More than half of all state political campaign donors in Texas are women, but their contributions only account for one-fifth of total donations, per a new analysis.Driving the news: While 51% of contributors in Texas were women, their money made up just 20% of state-level candidate donations in 2022, according to a new <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="report" data-vars-click-url="https://cawp.rutgers.edu/research/cawp-women-money-and-politics-series/donor-gap" data-vars-content-id="00f036c6-2739-47fb-88c9-863adc1358e1" data-vars-headline="The gender gap in Texas politics extends to campaign donations" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://cawp.rutgers.edu/research/cawp-women-money-and-politics-series/donor-gap" target="_blank">report</a> on the gender &quot;donor gap&quot; from Rutgers&#x27; Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP).

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Alongside the music, the food and the drinks, Austin City Limits Music Festival attendees this year will also be able to access naloxone, the opioid reversal medicine commonly known as Narcan — for free.

The festival runs this Friday-Sunday and Oct. 13-15.

Driving the news: Ohio-based overdose prevention nonprofit This Must Be the Place will provide the medicine and have a booth at the festival this year to educate fans about the opioid crisis, according to ACL Festival officials.

It's the first time doses of naloxone will be provided to ACL patrons, according to ACL promoter C3 Presents spokesperson Sandee Fenton.

Why it matters: Nearly 5,400 Texans died of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending in April, a roughly 9% increase year over year, according to the latest available CDC data.

Nationally, of 107,622 overdose deaths in 2021, an estimated 80,816 involved opioids, according to provisional data made available by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Context: The nonprofit partnered with C3 Presents in April during the Two Step Inn festival in Georgetown.

This Must Be the Place has supplied nearly 25,000 free doses of the life-saving medicine at C3 festivals across the country.

What they're saying: "The nationwide fentanyl overdose crisis is affecting many different aspects of our communities, and while it's not unique to festivals, we see this proactive measure as an important opportunity to educate and arm a large group of like-minded people with information and tools that can save lives," Fenton tells Axios.

In response to a question about whether ACL has seen overdoses in recent years, Fenton said: "The addition of This Must Be the Place is not a response to any incidents at our festivals."

Of note: In 2022, the festival provided educational resources and doses of naloxone to festival staff, vendors and first responders, according to Fenton.

The big picture: Narcan recently became the first opioid overdose treatment to be sold at pharmacies without a prescription following FDA approval in March, Axios' Jacob Knutson reported.

Distribution of the medicine by local and state governments has been on the rise, including a recent allotment to Texas police departments from Gov. Greg Abbott.

Austin ISD last year distributed naloxone to school nurses.

Go deeper: How Narcan works and symptoms of an opioid overdose

What you'll find at ACL: Narcan

It's the first time doses of naloxone will be provided to ACL patrons.

Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Alongside the music, the food and the drinks, Austin City Limits Music Festival attendees this year will also be able to access naloxone, the opioid reversal medicine commonly known as Narcan — for free.<ul><li>The festival runs this Friday-Sunday and Oct. 13-15.</li></ul>

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Vitals

Axios Vitals

Data: FAIR Health; Note: Costs include the delivery itself, anesthesia, fetal nonstress tests, ultrasounds, laboratory work and breast pump; Map: Alice Feng/Axios

The average cost of giving birth in the Lone Star State is below the national average, but could still hand you a big medical bill. 

Driving the news: While giving birth isn't cheap anywhere, it's far pricier in some states than others, according to data provided first to Axios from FAIR Health.

FAIR Health's 2022 Cost of Giving Birth Tracker — which uses data from more than 41 billion private health care claim records — offers a glimpse at how much variability there is in the cost of one of the most common health care services.

By the numbers: Texas' median in-network charge for a vaginal delivery is more than $11,318. Out of network, it's more than $27,500.

As for C-sections, the state's median in-network charge is roughly $13,900, while out-of-network rises to about $35,900.

Zoom out: The national average for in-network vaginal deliveries is $12,968, and $15,556 for C-sections.

The big picture: Alaska has the highest costs in the country. Its median allowed in-network amount for vaginal deliveries is more than $21,520 and almost $25,520 for C-sections.

But Texas' costs are more expensive than some neighboring states, including Oklahoma with a $9,614 in-network median vaginal delivery cost, New Mexico with $10,848, and Louisiana with $7,981. 

Alabama had the lowest median allowed in-network amount in the country at about $7,840 for vaginal deliveries and $8,910 for C-sections.

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It costs more than $11,000 to give birth in Texas

While giving birth isn't cheap anywhere, there are some states in the U.S. where it's far pricier than others.

Birth

The average cost of giving birth in the Lone Star State is below the national average, but could still hand you a big medical bill. Driving the news: While <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="giving birth isn&#x27;t cheap" data-vars-click-url="https://link.axios.com/click/31839327.137/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tLzIwMjIvMDcvMTMvdGhlLWNvc3RzLW9mLWhhdmluZy1hLWJhYnk_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1uZXdzbGV0dGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXNlbmR0b19sb2NhbG5ld3NsZXR0ZXJ0ZXN0JnN0cmVhbT10b3A/613bb99cb4152b573124203fB6fc78141" data-vars-content-id="355b7dd3-4ffa-425d-b546-cfbdf1652766" data-vars-headline="It costs more than $11,000 to give birth in Texas" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://link.axios.com/click/31839327.137/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tLzIwMjIvMDcvMTMvdGhlLWNvc3RzLW9mLWhhdmluZy1hLWJhYnk_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1uZXdzbGV0dGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXNlbmR0b19sb2NhbG5ld3NsZXR0ZXJ0ZXN0JnN0cmVhbT10b3A/613bb99cb4152b573124203fB6fc78141" target="_blank">giving birth isn&#x27;t cheap</a> anywhere, it&#x27;s far pricier in some states than others, according to data provided first to Axios from FAIR Health.

Health

Seattle

Axios Seattle

More than 1 in 4 Austin seniors were working past the age of 65 in 2021, a decision senior advocacy groups say is often driven by fear and financial insecurity.

Driving the news: At an age when people could historically retire and get full Social Security benefits, about 27% of Austin seniors — or 25,417 people — remain in the workforce, according to a new study of recent Census Bureau data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

That's above the national average of 21%.

What they're saying: Many find meaning and connection through the jobs they do, but for others, a high cost of living means they can't afford to step back, Jason Erskine, a spokesperson for AARP in Seattle, told Axios.

"Whether it's housing, utilities, groceries or pain at the pump — older adults are finding themselves squeezed financially," he said.

In a recent AARP survey, 87% of older workers pointed to their paycheck as a leading reason for why they are continuing to work.

Zoom in: In Austin, the median senior household income is $58,546 per the study.

Reality check: That's far below the median household income of the entire Austin-Round Rock metro area, which was nearly $95,000 in 2022, per new Census Bureau data.

The big picture: Americans retiring now are the first generation forced to rely on private savings, 401(k) plans and IRAs, which don't generate steady and predictable income the way pensions and Social Security do, Axios' Felix Salmon reports.

Just 36% of those 55 and older — nearing typical retirement age — say they'll be able to retire at the time they expected and 1 in 5 say they don't think they ever will, according to a recent Axios-Ipsos poll.

Zoom out: The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the labor force participation of older workers will continue to rise to 29.9% in 2032 for people aged 65-74 and to 9.9% for those 75 and older.

Over a quarter of Austin seniors still work

Illustration of an office chair with a doily on top, sitting on front of vintage wallpaper.

Retirement

More than 1 in 4 Austin seniors were working past the age of 65 in 2021, a decision senior advocacy groups say is often driven by fear and financial insecurity.Driving the news: At an age when people could historically retire and get <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="full Social Security benefits" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/raising-social-securitys-retirement-age-would-cut-benefits-for-all-new#:~:text=As%20noted%2C%20the%20full%20retirement,age%20had%20remained%20at%2065." data-vars-content-id="4d288540-81a5-42f2-81d6-2aeadb56c410" data-vars-headline="Over a quarter of Austin seniors still work" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/raising-social-securitys-retirement-age-would-cut-benefits-for-all-new#:~:text=As%20noted%2C%20the%20full%20retirement,age%20had%20remained%20at%2065." target="_blank">full Social Security benefits</a>, about 27% of Austin seniors — or 25,417 people — remain in the workforce, according to a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new study" data-vars-click-url="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/14/9xog12klrnsxoo5swyhqehh32/0/d429572e0bafc14d06132dd0fc8ecfaf9a5c5ea69f3fee4658c50ec10a747cb4" data-vars-content-id="4d288540-81a5-42f2-81d6-2aeadb56c410" data-vars-headline="Over a quarter of Austin seniors still work" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/14/9xog12klrnsxoo5swyhqehh32/0/d429572e0bafc14d06132dd0fc8ecfaf9a5c5ea69f3fee4658c50ec10a747cb4" target="_blank">new study</a> of recent Census Bureau data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

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This weekend, Texas will fall off a "child care cliff" when pandemic-era federal relief funding for the industry runs out.

Driving the news: Without intervention, nearly 306,000 Texas children are expected to lose child care — the highest total in the country, according to an analysis by the Century Foundation.

The national think tank estimates nearly 4,000 Texas child care programs could close, which could mean about $775 million in lost earnings from parents forced to cut working hours or exit the workforce as a result.

"There's not going to be mass closures overnight. This is going to be a slow, steady bleed," said Cody Summerville, executive director of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TAEYC).

Why it matters: The federal funding amounted to a $24 billion Band-aid patched over an industry that's long struggled.

"There's going to be a real crisis here," Cathy Creighton, director of Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations Buffalo Co-Lab, who's studying the impact of the additional funding for providers, tells Axios.

Catch up fast: The Texas Workforce Commission distributed nearly $4 billion in federal funds to child care programs over two years, per TAEYC.

Threat level: A TAEYC survey of child care programs last month found 26% of respondents said they're likely to close without more help.

72% of survey respondents said they would have to raise tuition to stay open, and 43% said they would have to cut staff wages or be unable to sustain wage increases.

Yes, but: Even with the federal dollars, the pandemic "really decimated the industry," Summerville said.

Early COVID guidance was difficult to follow, and staffing became a more acute crisis as programs had to compete with higher wages in other industries.

"We're at a place where we just can't anymore," he told Axios.

By the numbers: In March 2020, there were 769 licensed child care centers and family child care homes in Travis County. By September 2023, that number was down to 693.

Statewide, there were more than 18,700 child care programs in March 2020, versus just under 15,000 this month.

Zoom out: As many as 70,000 centers across the country looking after 3.2 million children might close when the funding runs out, according to the Century Foundation.

State of play: This cliff is approaching just as women and mothers are hitting their stride in the U.S. labor market — with workforce participation at new highs and the gender employment gap at record lows.

The rate of new Austin mothers returning to the workforce has bounced back after a COVID-era drop.

Providers are limited in their pricing power because most parents can't pay much for care. To keep costs down, workers make very little — about $12.50 hourly in Texas in 2022 per the Bureau of Labor Statistics — and providers operate on razor-thin margins.

Summerville said about 60-70% of child care program budgets tend to be labor, while most other businesses try to keep labor costs around 30-40%.

What's next: If the dire forecasts prove true, millions of parents — particularly mothers — are going to be left with some hard choices.

Their child care provider could shut down or raise prices past affordable levels — and many parents could exit the job market entirely.

Flashback: The Texas Legislature considered but did not approve a $2.3 billion investment in child care this year.

Summerville said leadership has not prioritized the issue and there's an unwillingness to intervene in what has been a private market.

Plus, the high annual price tag is a "huge pill to swallow" when compared to the under $43 million the state will spend this fiscal year to fulfill match requirements of federal block grants for child care, he said.

"I'm afraid it's going to have to get pretty bad, and it's going to have to have a pretty draining effect on our entire economy in order for elected officials to fully see the value that child care plays within our communities," Summerville said.

Families and business leaders are also going to have to get more involved in the push, he said, as industries will be left with a curtailed workforce.

The big picture: This cliff is new, thanks to the pandemic funding, but the industry in the U.S. has been living on the edge for a long time.

Studies find kids who get high-quality care wind up getting better educations, and better-paying jobs in the long term, but child care is provided by a private market.

Lawmakers at all levels of government need to change their mindset about child care, Summerville said. "We definitely have to treat child care like a public good. We all rely on child care, regardless if we have young children or not."

As Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen put it in 2021: "Child care is a textbook example of a broken market."

Nearly 306,000 Texas children could lose child care as federal funds expire

It's the highest total in the country according to the Century Foundation.

Child care

This weekend, Texas will fall off a &quot;child care cliff&quot; when pandemic-era federal relief funding for the<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" industry" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/15/child-care-daycare-costs-states-parents" data-vars-content-id="640f4ed6-5161-43c6-ac41-e0aeb5467e9b" data-vars-headline="Nearly 306,000 Texas children could lose child care as federal funds expire" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/15/child-care-daycare-costs-states-parents" target="_self"> industry</a> runs out.Driving the news: Without intervention, nearly 306,000 Texas children are expected to lose child care — the highest total in the country, according to an <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="analysis" data-vars-click-url="https://tcf-ccs-map.netlify.app/assets/factsheets/Child%20Care%20State%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Texas.pdf" data-vars-content-id="640f4ed6-5161-43c6-ac41-e0aeb5467e9b" data-vars-headline="Nearly 306,000 Texas children could lose child care as federal funds expire" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://tcf-ccs-map.netlify.app/assets/factsheets/Child%20Care%20State%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Texas.pdf" target="_blank">analysis</a> by the Century Foundation.

Emma Hurt

Featured stories

The gender gap in Texas politics extends to campaign donations

It costs more than $11,000 to give birth in Texas

What you'll find at ACL: Narcan

Nearly 306,000 Texas children could lose child care as federal funds expire

Over a quarter of Austin seniors still work