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FOR RELEASE MARCH 25, 2026

Contact: Xina Eiland, xina@xinapr.com, 703-785-4358

Working for Women Launches Head Above Water: Our Economy Can’t Afford to Lose Her – Campaign with Animated Short Film

• An estimated 42% of U.S. households fall below the ALICE Threshold, earning above the federal poverty line but unable to afford basic necessities such as housing, childcare, healthcare, food, and transportation, according to United For ALICE. (Source: United For ALICE)
• Head Above Water, a new animated short film produced pro bono by creative agency The Bloc, makes the cumulative financial pressures facing too many women visible through a five-minute visual narrative grounded in ALICE data: those who are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. 
• Working for Women, a national nonprofit, is launching the Head Above Water: Our Economy Can’t Afford to Lose Her campaign to mobilize the business community around workforce solutions for women in ALICE households.

NEW YORK (March 25, 2026)– Working for Women, a national nonprofit that mobilizes business investment and professional expertise to advance economic stability for women, today premiered Head Above Water, a new animated short film that brings to life the monetary pressures millions of employed women carry every day. The New York City screening at Luminary marks the launch of a sustained national campaign: Head Above Water: Our Economy Can’t Afford to Lose Her.

The campaign is built on research from United For ALICE, the national research initiative that tracks ALICE households, families who earn above the poverty line, but fall short of what it actually costs to live and work in their communities. These households earn above the federal poverty level but still cannot afford basic necessities. Among families headed by single women, nearly one in three lives in poverty. These are not outlier cases. They are the workforce: teachers, healthcare workers, caregivers, and service professionals whose labor keeps businesses running and communities functioning.

“The women in our programming are doing everything right,” said Beth Bengtson, founder and CEO of Working for Women. “They are working, they are raising families, they are showing up every day. And they are not seen. This film exists because we need people to emotionally connect to what these women experience, not as a statistic, but as a reality that touches every community and our entire economy.”

ABOUT THE FILM

Head Above Water is a just-under-five-minute animated film that follows a day in the life of ALICE. A childcare disruption. A medical bill. Unaffordable groceries. A broken water heater. Each pressure builds, and the visual metaphor of a rising waterline inside a bubble reflects the mounting weight of daily financial decisions that millions of working women navigate.

The film does not end in crisis. The turning point arrives when ALICE is drawn into a circle of support through Working for Women’s model, where financial coaching and community are paired with workforce training delivered by business volunteers, which help lower the waterline.

The arc is intentional: the film was designed to name the problem and demonstrate that solutions exist.

Research consistently shows that investing in women delivers measurable returns. According to the World Bank, when women control more income, spending on children’s health and education rises, strengthening the next generation of the workforce. Working for Women is building the infrastructure to connect the business community directly to that investment, not as charity, but as a workforce and economic strategy.

THE SOLUTION: WHAT WORKING FOR WOMEN DELIVERS

Working for Women connects women experiencing economic insecurity to pathways into quality jobs, invests in their training and education, and works with businesses and nonprofits to create conditions where women can achieve lasting economic stability.

The organization’s programming includes salary negotiation training that helps women learn to advocate for themselves and their earning potential; workforce and technology skills development through partners including Career Circle; and a financial wellness program that builds financial confidence, money management skills, and a foundation for long-term wealth creation. For some women, that means negotiating higher pay at their current employer. For others, it means building the credentials and confidence to move into roles that offer a living wage. The outcomes are both immediate – debt reduction, stronger household budgets – and generational, as women pass financial knowledge and stability to their children and families.

Head Above Water: Our Economy Can’t Afford to Lose Her extends well beyond the March 25 premiere. Working for Women will release the film publicly for sharing, embedding, and screening across media, corporate, and community settings.  The campaign rollout invites businesses and individuals to take action by investing in women’s economic mobility, engaging employees in skill-based volunteering, hosting a screening, and sharing the film to expand the conversation.

Head Above Water was produced pro bono by The Bloc, a fully independent health creative agency and long-standing Working for Women investor and partner. The project reflects The Bloc’s own commitment to skill-based volunteering: applying creative expertise to advance the mission of organizations working to improve lives.

“Bringing the stories of these women into the light has been a labor of love for the team,” said Stephanie Berman, global chief creative officer, The Bloc. “They brought the same rigor and ambition they bring to any major project, with the same determination to drive healthy change in the world. The data tells you there is a crisis. The film makes you feel it.”

ABOUT THE PREMIERE

The campaign launched on March 25, 2026, with a screening and panel discussion as part of a series of Working for Women events hosted in partnership with Luminary. The conversation was moderated by Lisha Bell, co-host of Sisters with Ventures. A full media advisory with panelist details and event information can be found on the Working for Women website.

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About Working for Women

Working for Women™ (W4W) is a nonprofit organization focused on advancing women’s economic mobility by investing in programs and partnerships that help women build the financial power to control their futures. Learn more at workingforwomen.org.

About The Bloc

The Bloc is a creative agency with a singular mission: Be Great To Do Good. Focused on health, they create work that cements real-life behavior change for lasting impact. Head Above Water was produced as a fully donated creative project. For more information, visit thebloc.com.

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703-785-4358

xina@xinapr.com