8.10.20

Being a working mother has always been a juggling act

— trying to balance work, parenting, family, and social commitments, while trying to find five minutes to yourself to slurp a cup of coffee while it’s still hot or grab a shower. Now, life has thrown us a new ball to juggle — Coronavirus — which impacts all of the other balls we are already trying to keep in the air. But, we are up for the challenge because that’s what mothers do.

Don’t get me wrong. Working fathers also are facing similar challenges. But, there has always been something special about mothers as the heart of the home, the soul of the workplace, and the center of social obligations that makes our struggle unique.

According to a recent New York Times survey, 70 percent of women said they are completely or mostly responsible for doing the housework during stay-at-home orders, and 66 percent said the same for child care. These are about the same time allotments as in non-Coronavirus times, so the burden has not balanced out even with many households having two adults at home. Another academic survey found that mothers who take on the majority of childcare and housework responsibilities during the pandemic are also likely to shoulder homeschooling — in 73 percent of these cases, mothers solely are responsible for their children’s educational needs.

A small percentage of us are fortunate enough to have understanding employers, perhaps even with childcare demands of their own, so we have the flexibility to work double-time — doing both our home and professional jobs and feeling utterly exhausted as a result.

Most women, however, do not have this privilege — either because they are working the frontlines and must go into their workplace, or they have lost their jobs, or simply have a job working from home that they cannot do because their childcare obligations take up all of their time and resources.

In one extreme case, Florida State University has told its staff that beginning in August, employees will no longer be allowed to care for their children during business hours if they have full-time positions that require them to be on campus. In another extreme, a woman who was an account executive for an insurance firm allegedly was fired because her children were a distraction during business calls. So, how exactly is this supposed to work? Parents will be forced to pay for childcare out of their own pockets just to keep their jobs, or they will be forced to quit their jobs altogether because they can’t afford this option or have special circumstances that won’t accommodate an outside caregiver. With schools not likely to re-open on normal schedules in the fall — as Governor Newsom announced in mid-July — will these extremes become the new trend?

With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility and Opportunity

Being a mother is an awesome superpower and gift. Those of us who are lucky enough to have a somewhat manageable work-life balance owe it to the rest of society to ease the burden on those working moms who are struggling every day, especially those who are our front-line workers.

A nationwide survey of 800 working parents with children under the age of 5 found that 43 percent of parents working remotely during the pandemic needed childcare, and 49 percent of those working in-person need formal childcare. About two-thirds of parents had difficulty finding formal childcare options, including 33 percent who found it very difficult. Nearly half (47 percent) of parents said they are concerned they will not be able to afford childcare once they can return to their workplaces or their childcare provider will not be open (46 percent).

One solution to meet these challenges, while addressing the economic downturn COVID-19 has created, is to implement universal, high-quality, low-cost childcare programs provided by certified, well-paid providers. Not only would this enable working mothers to get back to work, but also would present new job opportunities for caretakers that may have lost work due to the pandemic. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) offers six recommendations to make childcare in the future more equitable and available:

1) Count by contract, not by child — states should only fund childcare contracts with eligible licenses and regulated programs in schools and homes, which pay for a defined number of childcare slots, rather than providing funding based on the attendance of individual children.

2) Pay for the cost of quality childcare — States should be given adequate subsidy funding sufficient to pay at or above current market rates, with cost of living increases each year.

3) Pay early childhood educators what they are really worth — childcare providers must be compensated according to their value, skills and core competencies.

4) Use a universal approach to credential and certify educators — NAEYC recommends this should be done through the Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession to ensure a consistent approach to credentialing and certifications.

5) Reevaluate investments to drive quality childcare — we must invest in assets such as compensation, market rate payments, scholarships to support post-secondary education, and early learning and higher education program accreditation so that early childhood educators earn more money and childcare programs do not have to operate on slim margins.

6) Incentivize employers to support childcare — Employers must do a better job of recognizing the contribution that childcare makes on their ability to hire and retain highly skilled employees, which in turn, financially benefits the company. Thus, employers should make a strong commitment to employer-sponsored child care, which works in tandem with a substantial public investment in child care as a public good.

We are in a time of profound social change. Perhaps this change can help elevate the boat of working mothers too.