US discourages working moms
For many families, dual income has become a necessity. Throw in parenting duties on top of that, and many families are forced to make a choice of deciding which parent has to quit their job because they cannot afford private childcare for non-school-aged children, or their school systems are off more days than the standard two-week PTO allotment can sustain. Most US public schools are closed a minimum of five weeks per year in addition to standard federal holidays that many companies cover. This includes spring break, winter break and administrative days like parent-teacher conference days and teacher workdays. Add in snow days or Covid outbreak closures, and you could be looking at a minimum of two months per year, not to mention summer break! I mean, seriously. What employer in their right mind would keep an employee around who has to take a minimum of two months off per year? Some of the larger companies have become more accommodating (like allowing teleworking and flex-work options), but many small businesses or jobs that require employees to be physically at their place of work simply can’t afford this.
These issues of course have only been compounded due to Covid. But let me be clear. These issues are present regardless of being in a pandemic or not.
For many families, mom ends up being the one to stay home because she probably earns less money than dad, or earns less money than childcare facilities cost. Tradition also supports the decision to let dad be the breadwinner of the family over mom which makes that decision even more straightforward for many families. And as for single parents… well they’re just shit out of luck; forced to choose between working a part-time job taking a significant reduction in pay, or maintaining a full-time job and paying out of pocket for private childcare.
Well, I may have surprising news for many of you out there…
It doesn’t have to be like this.
Which brings me to my next point. What can we learn from other countries about their approach to this issue?
In the UK for example, the rights are very different. Women are entitled to a maximum of 52 weeks (365 days) maternity leave.
Swedish parents are offered long, paid parental leave when a child is born or adopted. In fact, parents are given 480 paid leave of which 390 days allow for 80% of salary being given. The remaining days are paid at a flat rate. Parents are also allowed to ask for flexible working rights and can legally work shorter hours. Men and women can share the parental leave in whatever way they feel most suitable.
After a year, parents can send their children to preschool, where all children are offered and guaranteed a place. The preschools are open from 6.30am-6.30pm and can also function around shifts, nights and weekend roles. When children reach the ages of 3–6 years, childcare provision is free for up to 15 hours a week. Before this time, costs are based upon a parent’s income and can be up to 3% of their salary. The Swedish government also provides a monthly child allowance which many parents offset against childcare fees.
Of course, there is a price to be paid for all of this free or heavily subsidzed childcare. The Swedes can pay up to 30% of income tax on their salaries. Those that earn over 591,600 Krona (around £52,000) pay the top rate. In contrast with many countries, Swedes almost welcome — or tolerate — high taxes as they see them helping the society in which they live.
Source on the above info
Sound far fetched?
A model as expansive as Swedens may very well be unrealistic for many in Congress. However, we need to ask ourselves what the costs are of NOT taking any action at all. For example:
- The effect on growth of U.S. GDP (of keeping the “Mom’s” intellectual capital out of the marketplace)
- The U.S. can ill afford a birth rate below 2.0 so we need U.S. citizens to keep having babies at rates which support economic growth (60–70% of U.S. GDP is consumer spending)
- Is America is better off with an “individualistic” society (a “me” focused society; survival of the fittest, every person out for themself) versus a “communal” society (a “we” focused society)? For a great resource on this last point see the recent book entitled “The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How WE Can Do It Again,” by Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett.
What will change look like?
Meaningful change will likely require cooperation from private U.S. companies as well as changes in government public policies and programs. Governance changes designed to incentivize private companies to do the right thing will likely also be required. If companies exist only to deliver profits to shareholders, then they may be more inclined to cut “unnecessary” costs.
We will also need to professionalize — at a higher level — jobs like teachers and day care workers. If we are going to increase demand for childcare we will need to counter with more supply (more children means more teachers, more jobs). However, if teachers are paid near minimum wage, what is the incentive to fill those new high demand positions?
Why moms are incentivized to leave their jobs
Ask the moms and dads out there who have had to quit their jobs to stay at home with their kids because they could not afford private child care (a staggering 18k — 40k per year depending on where you live and the quality of the care). This is not only a lower/middle class issue.
Take me, for example. I am one of the many supporters of the tech industry (a data scientist with a master’s degree) who supports several dimensions of our economy and way of living (online shopping, banking, the federal government tech systems, etc). I am well paid, I love my job, and I’d like to keep it. But I can’t expect a company to employ me if I have to take off an additional month per year to be at home with my son.
The daycare my three-year-old attends is closed 5+ weeks per year, and I have been allotted 2 weeks of PTO annually. I already pay over 20k annually for the daycare, and would have to pay an additional 3k to cover the additional 3 weeks that my PTO would cover. Let’s assume I could afford the additional 3k, wasn’t already living paycheck to paycheck, AND was willing to put my son through the anxiety of a change in his caretaker that often (children at this tender young age typically take weeks to adjust to and trust a new caretaker). What would be the likelihood that I could even find a consistent caretaker that would be available during the times of year that several thousand other families are also looking for temporary child care? Let me tell you… the odds are SLIM to near zero.
Let me also be honest with you…
I
AM
SUFFERING
And I know many other women out there who feel the same way. Even stay-at-home moms. Who, for the record, suffer more than working moms in this respect. Moms with more than one child may only get a 30-minute break throughout a grueling 16-hour day caring for their little ones. And let me remind you, they don’t even get weekends and holidays off. The psychological stress and pressure they endure would drive most off the edge of a cliff.
What can we do about it?
Before January 20th, I would have thought this concept to be outlandish. But I believe in a Biden presidency, this dream may actually be achievable. They have already made significant changes in what our government looks like and what it stands for with respect to giving voice to issues like this. Check out News Security Beat’s recent article on what a Biden-Harris White House means for woman girls. Additionally, we have the benefit of learning from several other countries that have tried and tested several different strategies of policy reform in this area. I’m not saying it will be easy or straightforward, but with a bit of hard work, it IS possible to have impact within the next four years.
My goal with this article is to light a fire under this conversation. I would like to give voice to the many amazing working moms, single parents and stay-at-home moms and dads across the nation who have been suffering in silence for far too long. I’m calling for policy reform, public-private partnership and a shift in how we think about supporting our moms across the nation. Rich and poor, black and white, immigrants and non-immigrants.
So who’s with me?!
Calls to Action
- Sign the Marshall Plan for Moms letter to President Biden that is advocating for a plan to provide support to our mothers.
- Give this article a clap (we need as much data as we can get to show how many people are invested in this)
- Share this article or write your own!
- Write a comment below if you have any thoughts or ideas on how to drive this conversation forward
For more info
For more info, metrics and data on how other first-world countries have used policy to make life easier for parents visit this link. And for all you policy gurus out there, here is a briefing put out by the Clinton administration that outlined the economic rationale for intervention, the effects of intervention and the need for more research in this area during his administration.
