Results for: Child Care

In the United States, the high cost of child care has become a significant barrier for mothers seeking to remain in the workforce. With limited affordable options available, many are forced to quit their jobs or drastically reduce their work hours to care for their children, exacerbating the gender gap in employment and economic inequality. This crisis disproportionately affects mothers without college degrees, who often lack the earning potential to offset the cost of child care. Despite the increasing number of women in the workforce, the shortage of affordable child care remains a lingering obstacle for many.

Prohibitive child care expenses are driving a significant number of mothers to leave their jobs or significantly alter their careers in the United States. The burden falls disproportionately on women without college degrees, who face greater employment gaps and financial hardship due to the lack of affordable care options. Despite historic highs in women’s workforce participation, the crisis persists, particularly for mothers without college degrees.

In the United States, high-quality child care is prohibitively expensive. The best option could cost about $2,000 per month, with a long waitlist. This burden falls most heavily on mothers, who are more likely to leave their jobs to care for children. As a result, the gap in employment rates between mothers with college degrees and those who don’t has widened. For mothers without college degrees, a day without work is often a day without pay. Even for those who can afford child care, the cost is overwhelming. The Department of Health and Human Services defines affordable child care as costing no more than 7% of a household budget, but a Labor Department study found fewer than 50 American counties where a family earning the median household income could obtain child care at an affordable price.

The high cost of child care is forcing mothers in the United States to make difficult decisions about their careers. In 2022, more than 1 in 10 young children had a parent who had to quit, turn down, or drastically change a job in the previous year because of child care problems. This burden falls most heavily on mothers, who shoulder more child-rearing responsibilities and are far more likely to leave a job to care for kids.