Pay Up by Reshma Saujani

Author:Reshma Saujani
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria/One Signal Publishers
Published: 2022-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

STRATEGY #2: SUPPORT WOMEN WITH CHILDCARE

“Before the pandemic, I used to go into a panic whenever I woke up to an email from my kids’ school saying they were closed for a snow day,” said Marianna, a mother of three kids under the age of nine. “I’d get such a pit in my stomach knowing that my entire workday would be lost and that my boss—who has no kids and likes to call mine ‘rug rats’—would definitely not understand. I laugh about that now because 2020 was like the longest snow day from hell.”

If the pandemic showed us anything, it’s that the availability of childcare dictates women’s ability to work—and, in the longer term, to stay in the workforce at all. When care centers and schools closed, forcing millions of women to leave the workforce because they relied on those resources—or employed caregivers who in turn relied on these resources for their own children—it became crystal clear that access to childcare is a key component to the future of work. Bottom line: Without affordable, reliable, quality childcare, we cannot work. Our livelihood literally depends on this.

America has faced a childcare crisis for years. The supply is way below the demand, and many lower-income families either live in areas outside of major cities that are childcare deserts or barely scrape together tuition. According to the Institute of Child, Youth and Family Policy at Brandeis University, in 2018, childcare was unaffordable for sixty-three percent of full-time working parents. But parents who earn a decent income are not guaranteed to find a viable childcare solution, either. Though the Department of Health and Human Services recommends that families spend no more than seven percent of their income on childcare, couples earning the national median income of $87,757 spend an estimated 10.6 percent on childcare (for one child… costs increase exponentially for additional children). Single parents—of which this country has the highest percentage in the world—may spend up to thirty-seven percent.

In the wake of the pandemic, agencies who place in-home nannies and babysitters are reporting a nationwide shortage of private caregivers resulting in skyrocketing premiums for these roles that many families simply cannot afford to pay. A publicist I know who is married to a college professor lamented, “I earn a good living, but honestly, at this point I am working just to pay for the babysitter. My wife and I sit around every night and wonder if it’s really worth it… if one of us should just stay home with our kids instead and make some cuts.”

That is a depressing choice. At the same time, many families in America do not have the luxury of even considering this option, as the financial stability of their family unit depends on the dual income of both parents and there are no viable cuts they can make. That reality is even more stark for single parents who are the sole support system for the family. In those instances, being unable to pay for childcare so both parents can work goes from being a troubling burden to a serious crisis.

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