In the United States, the issue of after-school care has been a pressing challenge for working mothers only to be further complicated by COVID-19. No where is this more apparent than by looking at the number of women in the workforce pre- and post-pandemic. In 2019, women’s participation was 57.4%. However, by 2021, this rate dropped to 56.1%. This decrease is particularly notable considering it represents the lowest since 1987 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
The pandemic aftermath continues to lead to a more pronounced exit of women than men. In February 2021, female participation was 3.1% smaller than 2020. An exodus of roughly 493,000 more women than men in a single year. And the numbers continue to escalate. As of mid-2023, an estimated 579,000 fewer women were working than pre-pandemic (Gallup).
Report after report indicate a main driving force are the challenges faced by working mothers in securing after-school care for their children. The “Mommy Tax” — the economic and career opportunity costs borne by working mothers — has become more burdensome in this context, underscoring the need for societal intervention and support.
For children in 5th to 12th grade, the financial toll of after-school programs intensifies and is often overlooked in the broader childcare conversation. This isn’t merely an individual concern; it is a societal one that begs for collective action and corporate solidarity. Online marketplaces emerge as beacons of hope, offering educational programs that alleviate the childcare conundrum and fostering family and community well-being helping women to balance work and home. Corporations need to embrace an encompassing support system to include families with older children in order to fortify the foundation where working mothers thrive professionally and personally.
The Mommy Tax
The “Mommy Tax” encapsulates the economic disadvantages working mothers face, such as earning around 70 cents for every dollar earned by fathers and encountering more career hurdles. Mothers are 5% less likely to be hired than childless women and face a 5% wage reduction per child. This issue is exacerbated during after-school hours when affordable, quality care is limited. These challenges highlight the significant employment and pay gaps mothers face, underscoring the need for societal and workplace reforms to support their dual roles.
The Childcare Crisis Pre- and Post-Pandemic
Prior to the pandemic, after-school care was already a critical need for working parents. According to the Afterschool Alliance, in 2020, for every child in a program, two were waiting to get in. However, the advent of COVID-19 caused a seismic shift, exacerbating these shortages. National reports now indicate that for every child in a care program, four others are now waiting. Not only did this drive up the cost of care, making it unattainable for many families, the ripple effect saw women’s workforce participation reduce to a 33-year low, per a National Women’s Law Center report. The result? A twofold impact: squeezing an already tight market for after-school care and pushing many mothers out of the workforce due to the lack of support.
The Economic Strain of After-School Care
After-school care poses a significant financial challenge for working families, particularly impacting single-income households and disproportionately Black single mothers who spend about 56% of their annual income on such care. The average cost of after-school activities is around $124 per week per child, with variations depending on region and program type, often exceeding $200 weekly. This underscores the urgency for more affordable after-school care options.
Beyond the Individual: A Societal Issue
Inadequate after-school care is not merely an inconvenience but a societal issue with broad implications. Without reliable care, working parents, particularly mothers, face employment constraints, contributing to the gender wage gap and reduced economic growth. A 2019 report by the Council for a Strong America found that inadequate childcare options cost the US economy a staggering $57 billion per year in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue. Policymaking, often lagging, fails to address the full scope of this crisis. For instance, the Childcare and Development Block Grant, the primary federal childcare subsidy program, reaches only one in six eligible children, highlighting a policy shortfall. To make matters worse, even with this federal assistance, almost no financial support for school-age children or programs that support them was included. The societal cost of this inadequacy underscores the need for comprehensive reform to support after-school care infrastructure.
The Digital Shift: Online Marketplaces
Online marketplaces for after-school programs are revolutionizing the way educational and enrichment activities are delivered, making them more accessible to a wider range of students. A significant benefit of this digital shift is the enhanced accessibility it provides, particularly for students in remote or underserved geographic areas, as well as for children with disabilities who face additional challenges participating in traditional in-person activities.
A recent survey by EdWeek Research Center highlighted the positive role of digital resources in after-school learning, with 73% of teachers acknowledging that these tools complement traditional learning methods. This adoption of virtual learning platforms not only bridges the geographical gap but also allows for customized learning experiences catering to individual learning styles and needs, including those of students with disabilities.
This democratization of access to educational resources is a pivotal step in ensuring that all children can engage in meaningful after-school learning experiences. It is essential, from a legislation and employer perspective to recognize and harness its potential to create more equitable and accessible educational environments.
The Role of Employers
Employer-led initiatives are increasingly recognizing the need for after-school care for families with school-aged children. Companies are expanding the traditional childcare benefits of daycare and back-up care to be more inclusive of older children, demonstrating a commitment to supporting employees with diverse family needs.
For instance, organizations like Google, known for their innovative approach to employee benefits, offer various family-friendly benefits. Among them assistance with finding after-school programs and activities for older children. This support is vital for parents in navigating the complexities of balancing work and family life and the ability to show up fully for both.
Similarly, Ernst & Young (EY) offers programs assisting employees with both child and elder care responsibilities. Many employees find themselves as part of the “Sandwich Generation,” having both children and elder family members to care for. This breadth of options is taking into account the broad nature of what “family support” needs to be.
These initiatives reflect a growing understanding of the diverse needs of employees. For working parents of older kids this could mean the difference of being able to continue on a career path or not. Considering roughly 60% of working families have children aged 10-18, this expanded view is imperative on the path to creating more inclusive workplace cultures.
A Call to Action for Corporations
Corporations have a critical role in shaping family-friendly work environments. First and foremost, HR Leaders must begin looking at childcare benefits from the lens of all parents, not just those with infants and toddlers. A comprehensive approach involves offering flexible work schedules, providing, or subsidizing after-school care, and creating family support policies.
Per the Boston College Center for Work & Family, such measures not only aid employee retention but enhance job satisfaction and productivity. Corporations can quickly provide access to online marketplaces, specifically targeted toward school-aged kids, as an immediate, low-cost extension of the traditional employee childcare benefits.
Beyond including access to digital marketplaces, partnerships with local organizations (town recreational divisions) or national programs (Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA, etc) are options that further acknowledge the diverse needs of families. This corporate commitment is essential.
Conclusion
The challenges of after-school care for working mothers, heightened by the “Mommy Tax” and the COVID-19 pandemic, underscore this critical societal issue and the urgent need for solutions. The economic strain of childcare, particularly for older children, calls for a collective response and a heightened awareness that childcare support is needed well beyond the infant and toddler years. While digital platforms offer innovative solutions, the importance of balanced employer-led initiatives which acknowledge the diverse needs of working parents cannot be overstated. Corporations have the power to effect change through family-friendly policies and support systems. As a society, recognizing and addressing these challenges is not only a moral imperative but also key to fostering a more equitable and productive workforce.
About: Carleen Haylett
Carleen Haylett is the CEO of EnrichedHQ. In 2020, single mother and technology leader Carleen Haylett witnessed pandemic-driven gaps in the U.S. educational space when her fifth-grade son began to thrive with homeschooling. The schoolwork was manageable, but the lack of affordable virtual extracurricular programs available, which would stimulate his development as a student preparing for middle and high school, was a shock. Torn between motherhood and her career, corporate pressure mounted, she left her job. She founded EnrichedHQ to solve the logistical nightmare of finding and managing options for kids who no longer need day care or a sitter, bridging childcare through high school. Leveraging her 20+ years in technology development, product management, and sales, she developed a platform that offers virtual extracurricular programs for middle and high school age children that enrich and prepare them for life. Working parents are able to find an immediate remedy for this common parental stressor through their employers. EnrichedHQ handles all the logistics, letting parents easily find, book, schedule, and pay for multiple virtual programs for multiple children across multiple providers. Both corporations and parents benefit from EnrichedHQ’s commitment. Visit
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