Excerpts
Child care is critical for helping to keep women in the workforce, and for closing the gender gap. Child care is also a business imperative.
In fact, companies lose up to $70 billion a year due to child care disruptions (think: sick days, school breaks, and early dismissals), uncovers a new report that includes a national survey of about 1,700 parents by Moms First’s National Business Coalition for Child Care, in partnership with McKinsey & Company. The report finds this lost worker output caused by child care disruptions is equal to adding more than 1.2 million full-time workers to the economy.
“We often think about infrastructure as roads, ports, or power grids—but child care plays a similarly critical role,” said Ramya Parthasarathy, partner at McKinsey & Company, in a press release. “It enables millions of workers to participate in the economy each day, and when access is disrupted, businesses see the impact through absenteeism, turnover, and lost productivity.”
The same report finds that nine in 10 parents say child care disruptions impact their ability to work, but only 15% of companies offer child care benefits.
“At the core, child care is the linchpin of workforce participation and affordability,” says Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Moms First.
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Addressing the child care crisis for foundational workers in particular, or those in shift-based, operationally essential roles such as nurses, teachers, or retail workers, could save employers roughly $35 to $45 billion in increased worker output, according to the report.
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“Having more stable child care options, such as onsite child care, would be life-changing,” says Katherine DeOrdio, 42, a nurse practitioner based in Syracuse, New York and mother of three children under 12 years old. “It would save me so much time, stress, and money in trying to find last-minute care, and would help me to better focus at work. Also, I’d be able to pick up more shifts.”
Giving parents access to trusted and reliable child care options matters to workplaces because when child care is unstable, workers may be less productive and engaged, and teams have less continuity.
“Child care disruptions are a direct driver of business loss through absenteeism, turnover, and reduced productivity,” says Saujani. “That’s not a personal issue, it’s a business one.”
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“There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but the data is clear: when employers listen to their workforce and invest in what they need—whether it’s stipends, backup care, or flexibility—it pays off,” says Saujani. “Employers can’t solve the child care crisis alone, but they can’t afford to sit back and wait for someone else to fix it either.”“There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but the data is clear: when employers listen to their workforce and invest in what they need—whether it’s stipends, backup care, or flexibility—it pays off,” says Saujani. “Employers can’t solve the child care crisis alone, but they can’t afford to sit back and wait for someone else to fix it either.”