Julie Vogtman, the senior director of job quality at the National Women’s Law Center, paints a stark picture of the obstacles working mothers encounter. At the same time, a return to office blitz by many businesses is tightening the vise on them. She notes a troubling trend: an increasing number of mothers are leaving the workforce due to these demands, which complicate their ability to balance work and family responsibilities.
In 2022, American families experienced a national average of $1,100 monthly costs for full-time childcare. They paid up to 8.9% of their incomes and up to 16% on care for one child, an analysis by U.S. Department of Labor found. The annual cost of this type of care is anywhere from $6,552 to $15,600. For the majority of families, these costs result in extreme financial pressure and fewer choices for parents who may want to reenter the workforce full-time.
In the blog’s latest post, Vogtman draws attention to the particular mothers’ challenges in retail and food service jobs. Going back to in-person work is particularly difficult for them. Unsurprisingly, these jobs can’t generally be done remotely, so mothers have little option but to take the plunge. Employers have reversed course in recent months, requiring the previously untethered remote white-collar workforce back to the office three, four, or even five days a week. This change can pose real hardships to parents’ ability to juggle childcare, she said.
The pull back is particularly notable among Fortune 500 companies. 13% have required full-time in-office by Q4 2024. Yet by the second quarter of this year, 24% of these companies forced employees to clock in on-site full-time. This transition creates a gendered disadvantage, especially for women of color, who encounter unique impediments in juggling their careers and caregiving duties.
Vogtman’s mission, though, goes beyond just having somewhere for kids to go while their parents are at work. “This is really not about just getting kids supervised while parents work,” she continued. The rigidity of traditional work— requiring full-time, in-person work— often puts mothers in a position where they have to choose between their jobs and their families. When you’re unable to pay for childcare, you have very few good options. Instead of being able to balance these responsibilities, you’re forced to choose between your job and your new family.
Even for those who need part-day childcare, the financial burden of care is daunting, ranging from 8.1% to 9.4% of median annual household income. It costs their families $5,943 to $9,211 per year to pay these costs. For Vogtman, addressing employees’ needs not only increases productivity, but reduces employee turnover. She argues that employers consistently ignore this key piece of wisdom.
“When that flexibility disappears, they can find that they need to choose between work and family instead of having the option to do both.” – Julie Vogtman
Second, Vogtman calls for better federal policies to fill the void left by a lack of support for working parents. She’s convinced that universal childcare and flexible work environments will make big business boom. Not only that, these measures would significantly help the local, small businesses at the same time, too.
“Our federal policies aren’t just failing workers – they’re failing employers,” she stated.
