- Marshall Plan for Moms will
organize a "National Business Coalition for Child Care" with aim of
expanding child care supports for workers; Archewell, Athletes
Unlimited, Care.com, Gibson Dunn, Fast Retailing, Patagonia, and
Synchrony signed on
NEW
YORK, May 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today,
Marshall Plan for Moms released a
new report "The Business Case for Child Care: How Parent-Focused
Employee Value Propositions Help Companies Win the War for Talent."
In a historically tight labor market, the report found that
expanded child care benefits could further companies' efforts to
attract, retain, and advance women and help bring women back to
work following their exodus from the labor force during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Employer child care supports can improve
the recruitment, retention, productivity, and happiness of
employees
The report was created by Marshall
Plan for Moms to examine the impact of the current ecosystem
of child care supports in the U.S. on companies and workers, and
how the private sector can play a role in addressing child care
needs, while also helping companies win the war for talent.
McKinsey & Company served as a knowledge partner for the
report, providing research, data, and analysis, including insights
from a survey of 1000+ American parents with children ages
0-5.
The study found that for mothers of young children, expanded
child care benefits from employers is a deciding factor in their
employment. According to the survey, 69% of women with children
under 5 would be more likely to choose an employer that offered
on-site child care or benefits to help pay for child care.
Furthermore, 83% reported that child care benefits would be an
important factor in deciding whether to stay with their current
employer or look to switch employers. Child care supports were also
found to have a bearing on women's advancement, or lack thereof:
53% of women with young children who left the workforce
temporarily, took on less hours, or moved to a less demanding job
cited child care as one of the reasons.
"The input from working parents is clear: employer child care
supports can improve the recruitment, retention, productivity, and
happiness of employees," said Reshma
Saujani, founder and CEO of Marshall
Plan for Moms. "This is not only crucial for the health
and wellbeing of individual American families, but also central to
American economic competitiveness."
The report provides a detailed backdrop showing the United States' patchwork child care system
is in a state of crisis, leaving working parents to struggle across
many challenges including Affordability, Accessibility,
Convenience, Reliability, and Quality. For a stunning 80% of
families, accessing center-based child care exceeds the
HHS-recommended affordability level of 7% of household income. At
the same time, just 13% of two-year-old children attend childcare
that is rated as "high quality."
These challenges were found to disproportionately impact
mothers. Of the parents surveyed, 75% of women reported being
primary caregivers at home. 45% of mothers who left the workforce
cited child care expense or availability as one of the reasons they
left, compared to 14% of men with children the same age. Indeed,
recent jobs numbers indicate there were 1.1 million fewer women in
the labor force in January 2022
compared to February 2020, even
though an additional 100,000 men entered the labor force during the
same time period.
Despite the fact that access to suitable child care is key to
helping women return to the workplace and stay there long-term,
only 1 in 11 parents surveyed reported having access to financial
subsidies to pay for child care or on-site child care at their
employer. With record numbers of employees leaving their jobs amid
the Great Resignation, Marshall Plan
for Moms' report offers guidance for businesses to create their own
child care benefits solutions, tailored to employees' needs and
suited to individual business models.
National Business Coalition for Child Care
In light of the report's findings and the unique opportunity for
business leaders, Marshall Plan for
Moms will launch a "National Business Coalition for Child Care."
Coalition members have an interest in pursuing solutions that
equitably provide child care supports for employees, demonstrate
willingness to take action, increase transparency by sharing their
policies, data, and best practices and speak out publicly on the
importance of child care to the US economic health and
competitiveness and normalize the challenges of working
parents.
Leading organizations including Archewell, Athletes Unlimited,
Care.com, Fast Retailing, Gibson Dunn, Patagonia, and Synchrony
have already signed on, helping to usher in an era of more
equitable, productive, and sustainable workplaces that will unleash
the full potential of their employees and the broader American
economy.
"Families everywhere, and especially working moms, are asked to
shoulder so much," said Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, mom of
two and Co-Founder of Archewell. "This has only been heightened
by the pandemic, with increased caregiving responsibilities, rising
prices, and economic uncertainty. As it's been said many times, it
takes a village to raise a child. Today, we're sending a message
that childcare isn't just a community imperative—it's a business
imperative. Creating a stronger workforce starts with meeting the
needs of families."
"Athletes Unlimited is honored to be one of an innovative group
of inaugural organizations committed to improving the rights of
working moms," said Jon Patricof,
CEO and Co-Founder of Athletes Unlimited. "As a network of
player-driven sports leagues comprised of four pro women's sports,
we recognize the challenges of working moms in sports and are
determined to continue to improve their experience by providing
child care services during season helping them continue to play and
spend quality time with their families."
"Although the pandemic brought this private struggle into the
public light, child care difficulties for working parents have
always existed," said Tim Allen,
CEO of Care.com. "These challenges will remain unless employers
take action. In an effort to be a part of the solution, Care.com
partners with employers to supply care benefits that support
employees as their needs evolve. We are proud to join the coalition
to further advocate for mothers in the workforce."
"At UNIQLO, Theory and Helmut
Lang we are committed to help meet the needs of our
employees and their families," said Serena Peck, Group Executive Officer of Fast
Retailing. "The Childcare Stipend policy is an important
initiative, providing financial relief for our members as their
families grow."
"At Gibson Dunn, we appreciate the importance of family and
understand how critical childcare is to our employees," said
Zakiyyah Salim-Williams, Chief
Diversity Officer at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. "We
have a number of policies and practices that support working
parents, from providing additional Bright Horizons backup childcare
days to enhancing our flexibility and leave offerings. Last,
our Gibson Dunn Families coaching program and Parenting Groups
serve as a resource for our employees."
"Making onsite childcare available and offering paid family and
medical leave is not just ethical, it's foundational to Patagonia's
mission to save the home planet," said Patagonia, Inc. President
Jenna Johnson. "To retain and
attract top talent and create a more supportive and productive work
culture, we need policies that encourage women to stay here. I
don't even think of this as a 'benefit,' it's a business
imperative."
"At Synchrony, we believe investing in our people allows us to
remain an employer of choice now and for the future," said
Carol Juel, Executive Vice
President and Chief Technology and Operating Officer at
Synchrony. "Providing affordable, reliable and flexible
childcare support is critical to meet the needs of working parents
and a diverse, hybrid workforce. Together, we will continue to lean
into innovative solutions that retain and advance women at work and
prioritize flexibility, inclusivity and wellness for all."
The full Business Case for Child Care Report, including details
on methodology, and information about joining the National Business
Coalition for Child Care can be found at
www.MarshallPlanforMoms.com/Childcare-Report.
ABOUT MARSHALL PLAN FOR MOMS
Marshall Plan for Moms is a national non-profit
organization working to transform our workplaces, our government,
and our culture to value women's labor and enable moms to thrive.
Founded by Girls Who Code founder Reshma
Saujani, we advocate for public and private sector changes
to expand choices for women and remove barriers to equality,
finishing the fight for women's equality once and for
all.
ABOUT ARCHEWELL
Archewell is the organization founded by Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex that currently includes
Archewell Foundation, Archewell Audio, and Archewell Productions.
At Archewell, we unleash the power of compassion to drive systemic
cultural change. We do this through our non-profit work within
Archewell Foundation 501(c)(3), in addition to creative activations
through the business verticals of audio and production.
ABOUT ATHLETES UNLIMITED
Athletes Unlimited is a new
model of pro sports where athletes are decision-makers and
individual players are champions of team sports. Athletes Unlimited
literally changes the game with faster play and new team rosters
every week, delivering next-level competition and engagement in
which every moment counts. The first season of women's softball
took place in 2020, with the inaugural seasons of women's indoor
volleyball and women's lacrosse being completed in 2021, along with
season two of softball. We completed our inaugural Basketball
league season two of volleyball in 2022 and are slated to host our
inaugural AUX Softball league in June followed by second lacrosse
and third Championship Softball season in late July. For more
information, visit AUProSports.com.
ABOUT CARE.COM
Available in more than 20 countries,
Care.com is the world's leading platform for finding and managing
high-quality family care. Care.com is designed to meet the evolving
needs of today's families and caregivers, offering everything from
household tax and payroll services and customized corporate
benefits packages covering the care needs of working families, to
innovating new ways for caregivers to be paid and obtain
professional benefits. Since 2007, families have relied on
Care.com's industry-leading products—from child and elder care to
pet care and home care. Care.com is an IAC company
(NASDAQ: IAC).
ABOUT FAST RETAILING
Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. is a
leading Japanese retail holding company with global headquarters in
Tokyo, Japan. UNIQLO is the
largest of eight brands in the Fast Retailing Group, the others
being GU, Theory, PLST (Plus T), Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse
tam.tam, J Brand, and Helmut
Lang. Fast Retailing is one of the world's largest
apparel retail companies. With a corporate statement committed to
changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the
world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with
new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For
more information about Fast Retailing, please visit
www.fastretailing.com.
ABOUT GIBSON DUNN
Gibson Dunn is a full-service
international law firm that advises on the most significant
transactions and complex litigation around the world. Consistently
achieving top rankings in industry surveys and major publications,
Gibson Dunn is distinctively positioned in today's global
marketplace with more than 1,600 lawyers and 20 offices. To learn
more about Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, please visit
https://www.gibsondunn.com/.
ABOUT PATAGONIA
Founded in 1973, Patagonia is a
Certified Benefit Corporation that is recognized internationally
for product quality and environmental activism. Patagonia has
contributed more than $145 million in
grants and in-kind donations to date to grassroots nonprofits
working to protect people and the planet.
ABOUT SYNCHRONY
Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) is a premier
consumer financial services company delivering one of the
industry's most complete digitally-enabled product suites. Our
experience, expertise and scale encompass a broad spectrum of
industries including digital, health and wellness, retail,
telecommunications, home, auto, powersports, pet and more. We have
an established and diverse group of national and regional
retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry
associations and healthcare service providers, which we refer to as
our "partners." We connect our partners and consumers through
our dynamic financial ecosystem and provide them with a diverse set
of financing solutions and innovative digital capabilities to
address their specific needs and deliver seamless, omnichannel
experiences. We offer the right financing products to the
right customers in their channel of choice. For more information,
visit www.synchrony.com and Twitter: @Synchrony.
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SOURCE Marshall Plan for Moms