Brylye Collins, CDR’s Post

"It didn't make sense for me to go back to work because after childcare costs, there was nothing left of my salary". You've heard this before right? And always from women. The idea being it's not 'worth' women going back to work after children, if they can't make enough money themselves, after childcare costs. We need to start thinking of it in terms of a household income, with household expenses - of which childcare costs are often a big one! (especially before school age) This is another argument for organisations to be giving robust parental leave on full pay, regardless of gender, so we can move away from this idea that any childcare costs are added to (and debited from) the mother - psychologically or otherwise. In two parent families, we can't seriously be saying that the non-birthing partner should be keeping 100% of their salary and not debit any childcare costs from it - are we? Surely this is a 'we proposition'. And part of that 'we' is the support of excellent employers - who don't get 'into the long grass' on mat leave or pat leave or adoption leave, and simply have a clear and well-funded #parentalleave policy, which is offered to all parent employees - in whatever way they become a parent.

Increased childcare costs and limited access to childcare are impacting working mothers. Some working mothers have to call out of work, leading to missed career opportunities, which only adds to the gender gap in the workplace. Addressing the high price tag for childcare is integral to ensuring a gender-equitable workforce.❗ #MAKERS #MAKERSWomen https://bit.ly/48YFF6x

Deep in childcare tours at the moment and it’s striking how women-dominated this workforce is. Yet to come across one male-identifying childcare worker. And so it’s no great surprise that it’s also one of the most under-valued and underpaid industries, and yet also one we expect so, so much from and one where we see so many highly skilled and knowledgeable educators and carers. AND an industry where we grapple with the such workforce challenges and shortages. Some policy problems are easy. Pay childcare workers more, value their work more, increase gender diversity and make this a vocation to which men and women alike aspire. There’s the solution.

🔹 54,000 Women leave their jobs every year: Tackling Childcare Costs 🔹 Next month sees the introduction of a new government initiative which will over time introduce up to 30 hours free childcare for infants from 9 months of age for working parents. As someone who currently pays more on monthly childcare than my mortgage this is a welcome change which the government hope will support working parents and open up a workforce of those who were previously unable to work due to childcare costs. Pregnant Then Screwed who have campaigned tirelessly for affordable childcare report that 54,000 women a year are losing their jobs for getting pregnant whilst 77% of working mums say they have endured some kind of discrimination in the workplace. It is important to raise awareness of these statistics and it does feel as though the Government are starting to listen. Childcare in the UK is currently the most expensive in the world. I'd love to hear your personal experiences along with comments on how you think this upcoming Government initiative will impact the workforce 👇 #genderpaygap #affordablechildcare #workingparents   

I remember the challenges of working on an IPO with clear deadlines while juggling childcare responsibilities. The struggle is real, and the never-ending Mom guilt always creeps in. Childcare is tough, and it never seems to get easier. The section on return to work mandates is interesting, it's a pretty controversial subject right now. We did successfully manage K-12; it takes a village and the support of KPMG US in flexibility, benefits, and access to resources. Read more about the childcare crisis in the workplace: https://lnkd.in/gMM9_4ad

 No matter the weather or where you live, June marks the beginning of summer — and the start of childcare headaches for a lot of folks. Of course, plenty of working people struggle with childcare throughout the year and not just in summertime, but the end of the school year marks a particular rough spot. While politicians try to hash out family leave laws, with little noticeable change in either direction, offering flexible work options, paid leave benefits and even subsidized or free childcare is one way that employers can distinctly differentiate themselves. Many of the job seekers I work with in my role as a Managing Partner at MS Capital express how much these types of benefits and perks would mean to them. And of course, childcare pains affect women in the workforce more drastically than they do men. So if improving your gender equity is a key issue for your company, it’s easy to trace a straight line from there to childcare.

Fascinating analysis from KPMG: "The parental work disruption index: A new measure of the childcare crisis -- Lack of access to childcare results in millions of lost work hours, which have downstream effects on productivity." For the first time, we can comprehensively quantify and track, on an ongoing monthly basis, how the childcare crisis is affecting different groups of working Americans. Women are disproportionately affected, but men are not immune. Work hours are being lost by the millions. This has spillover effects for workers and their children, businesses, governments and the overall economy. To read more, see: https://lnkd.in/e9U4G83G #childcare #worklifebalance #ESG #environmentalsocialgovernance #womenatwork #employment #employeeexperience #employeebenefits #preK

People who quit after parental leave wanted manager training for parental leave even more than they wanted support for the cost of childcare.   Let that sink in for a minute.   We’re in the midst of a childcare crisis! Where childcare costs more than a mortgage!   But this drives home just how incredibly important the manager’s role is in the parental leave experience.   Parental leave is the most vulnerable moment in the careers of most employees, and manager play such a critical role here.   The good news? Providing manager training is much cheaper for companies than providing childcare ... and will directly impact your ability to retain new parents. ********* This data is from Parentaly‘s survey of nearly 3,000 women who took paid parental leave in the past three years. Want to see more of the survey results? Download the full white paper on Parentaly’s website (>>> resources page), or follow me (Allison Whalen) to learn more!

One issue in conversations around access to childcare and its impact on labor force participation is the prospect of childcare costs imposing a significant financial burden on working families, potentially impeding labor force participation rates. https://lnkd.in/eMub2Kns

Cradles in the conference room? That’s not quite what employer-sponsored childcare means, but it is a popular benefit — and states are starting to take notice. 👶🏼 👀 Offering tax incentives and cost-sharing programs are great ways to help working parents who need support in managing and affording childcare situations. Check out what some states are doing to close the childcare gap.