Had a federal paid leave policy been in place, many of those women may have been able to stay employed, she said.
"Imagine if, during the pandemic, we had had a national paid leave program," Gillibrand said.
The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, or FAMILY Act, was reintroduced by lawmakers including Gillibrand and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., with the goal of creating the first paid national family and medical leave program.
"It is a reasonable, pragmatic way to get to paid family leave," Duckworth, who is a co-sponsor of the bill, told CNBC.com in an interview.
The Education Support Professionals Family Leave Act would provide education support workers such as school bus drivers with unpaid leave under FMLA.