In the United States, high-quality child care programs are prohibitively expensive and government assistance is limited, leading to a common dilemma for working parents, particularly mothers. A recent study found that more than one in ten young children had a parent who had to quit or drastically change their job in the past year due to child care-related issues. This burden falls most heavily on mothers without college degrees, who face lower pay and fewer paid leave options. As a result, women like Nicole Slemp, a former secretary, have no choice but to leave their jobs despite their desire to continue working. While women’s participation in the workforce has recovered from the pandemic, the gap between mothers with and without college degrees in terms of employment rates has widened. The high cost of child care has also affected women with higher education, such as Jane Roberts, a teacher who had to take unpaid leave to care for her newborn due to a lack of affordable options. Sociologist Jessica Calarco highlights that stay-at-home moms are often those pushed out of the workforce due to financial constraints. Despite government definitions of ‘affordable’ child care, a Labor Department study found that less than 50 American counties provide such care at a median household income. The financial burden of child care can be overwhelming for low- and middle-income mothers, like Adriane Burnett, who spends over a third of her monthly income on care for her child. The lack of affordable care and limited government support has left many mothers feeling defeated and lacking in purpose. Daizha Rioland’s struggles to find high-quality care for her children, despite her education and financial resources, underscore the systemic challenges faced by working parents. Nicole Slemp’s experience illustrates the need for government support and policy changes to address the child care crisis and empower parents to participate fully in the workforce.
