The effects of the Covid pandemic continue to worsen for women, the latest being that women with children have been unable to return to the workforce, or have had to leave.
Reports have said that women have continued to bear the brunt of job losses during the pandemic. In September 2021 alone, women lost 26,000 jobs, while men gained 220,000.
Studies found that more than 300,000 women left the workforce in September 2021, according to the National Women’s Law Center. It’s the largest drop-off of female workers since September 2020.
One of the reasons women have been unable to return to work is childcare.
The cost of childcare and an overall lack of access to it are preventing women from being able to return to work.
Before the Covid pandemic forced everyone to stay at home, America’s childcare systems were already facing significant problems. Issues included the significant expense, the low pay for workers, and a lack of accessibility to the care. The pandemic has effectively worsened all of these issues.
Many childcare centers have been forced to shut down during the pandemic. Many closed permanently. Some are yet to reopen, or they have a much lower enrollment, jeopardizing their futures.
The labor participation rate in the US is still 1.7 percent lower than before the Covid pandemic hit. This includes nearly 1.6 million mothers with children under the age of 17, who left the workforce and have not yet returned.
Some experts say that the care infrastructure was hanging by a thread before the pandemic, and that it completely unraveled during Covid. They say it’s become clear that the U.S. needs to invest in childcare in order to allow parents to return to work, and also to provide living wagers for childcare workers.
Currently, the U.S. spends only $500 annually per child, which is significantly lower than other countries in the same wealth bracket. President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better budget includes an allocated $400 billion to go towards the development of free universal preschool for children aged three and four, and to reduce the cost of childcare to seven percent of income for families earning up to 250 percent of their state’s median income.
This is expected to expand access for 20 million children in the U.S.
Costs for childcare have also increased significantly over the past few decades, and vary greatly across the U.S. In Mississippi, the cost has raised approximately $5,000. In Washington, DC, that number is much higher, at $24,000.
Experts and advocates are calling for the U.S. to change its childcare system to reflect the rising costs and the realities of working parents, and to stop putting the burden only on mothers.
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