By Dr. Kate Pflughoeft, Grant Manager, Nevada Department of Education (NV)
How would you describe the structure in place in your community to help women succeed in both motherhood and in workplace advancements? It’s difficulty to find a clear policy answer, yet, family infrastructure is the foundation for everything that we do to keep our economy in balance. A key factor to a healthy economy often taken for granted, is how your children are cared for during the workday.
From a structured education approach, the U.S. relies on Early Childhood Education (ECE) as one critical approach to how we care for our youngest learners (ages 0-8). Yet ECE remains a patchwork system with many holes, rather than a high quality systemic design. While working mothers rely heavily on the ECE system, there are significant challenges that need to be addressed that have long been ignored, including:
1. Lack of High-Quality ECE – ECE deserts exist in both rural and urban areas.
2. Impact of ECE – A great start to education access in the early years of a child’s development leads to both enhanced educational and societal outcomes.
3. Women in the Workforce – Women are more likely than men to interrupt their careers to care for a loved one, often with negative effects on their mental health and financial security.
4. Workforce Pay – Early Childhood Educators are professionals that work for low pay, benefits, and respect.
5. Cost of ECE – ECE or child care are often a family’s highest expense.
A single policy solution to solve all of the current challenges associated with high quality, ubiquitous ECE access would be nearly impossible, but there are some state and local solutions that are starting to have an impact on families, while improving their economy. For example, New Mexico is using land grants to provide subsidies to families at 400% of the federal poverty level. Colorado is providing stipends for Friend and Family providers. Washington DC is paying their 3- and 4-year olds (Pre-K) teachers using the same pay scale as K-12 educators. Within the private sector, some employers are beginning to look for ways to provide more family-friendly workplaces, by offering benefits such as on-site Early Childhood Education and Flexible Spending Plans (pre-tax savings), but these policies are often tied to employment and does not extend services to mothers who want to step away from work for an extended time period.
One significant challenge to changing our mindset about supporting women as mothers and employees in today’s society, is that the ideal worker is still a man (without kids), who can work long hours and travel at any time. Women are at a disadvantage as their time is over scheduled and undervalued. While viable solutions have been studied both in the U.S. and globally, there is a need to fundamentally change how society views women in employment. Viable policy options include paid leave, retention policies that protect the ability to come back at the same leadership level, flex-time, and job sharing.
As a nation, we have talked about a more systemic policy solution but have been spinning our wheels for decades on the big policy shifts, with slow but incremental progress. Under the Nixon administration, the bipartisan Comprehensive Child Development Act of 1971 was approved by Congress but vetoed by President Nixon. While such Congressional and Presidential commitment is still needed today, over fifty years later, we are not in a time where social political will is available to attend to both the needs and economic opportunities of our mothers nor our youngest learners. The question on the lap of education leaders today is how we can best leverage site-based power to embrace the whole-family model, and not cause harm on progress that has been made.
