America is more productive and businesses are more successful when more women are in the workforce. Yet in the post-pandemic environment, efforts to get women back into the labor market have been limited.
Since February 2020, the economy has experienced a net loss of nearly 822,000 jobs, with women accounting for 88% of those losses. Female labor force participation in the Kansas City area is at about 75%, which is lower than most comparable Midwest metropolitan areas.
It is critical to our economy and the success of business that women are supported in careers outside the home if that is their choice. Companies with higher percentages of women in their workforce report more job satisfaction overall, men and women. They also report more dedication to the organization, more positive employee engagement, and higher retention.
So, what can we do to get women back into the workforce? First, we must support programs that increase workplace flexibility. Next, we need to incentivize employers to allow more employee paid leave. And finally, we must improve access to high-quality early learning for families.
Unfortunately, the pandemic created a childcare crisis. By August 2021, 177 daycare centers in Kansas City had closed, eliminating over 2,000 childcare spots in Kansas. By January 2022, 40% of all childcare centers in Kansas City were shut down. As we all know from Economics 101, scarcity increases prices, and this crisis is no exception. Inflation has made it worse, and right now, childcare in Kansas is 1.3 times as expensive as in-state college tuition. When families do not have access to affordable childcare, women’s careers and lives are disproportionately affected.
President Joe Biden has just proposed more federal spending, which will equate to even higher inflation and higher childcare prices. Unfortunately, Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) has a 100% voting record with Biden and has supported every one of his trillion-dollar spending bills, voting against the best interests of the working mothers in our district.
As a working mother who has juggled the demands of a full-time job and the difficulties of raising two now-teenage children, I have lived the pressure so many mothers in our community are feeling today. To help women reenter the workforce, we need to encourage policies that bolster the type of work women are pursuing, such as flexible and independent work, making it easier to achieve the work-family balance so many families desire.
Policymakers should expand 529 eligibility qualifications so families can use those dollars for high-quality early learning costs. Congress needs to revisit policies like the employer-provided childcare credit to ensure tax incentives are enticing enough to motivate employers to support their employees’ childcare needs. And companies need to be incentivized to offer family leave benefits and flexible work opportunities.
The solution to our country’s workforce problems lies in supporting the working mothers of America. This is best done through a collaborative solution with employers that will ultimately benefit businesses and families. I am committed to programs and policies that help women rejoin the workforce, thereby strengthening the economy. I will work to remove barriers and encourage employers to offer flexible work environments and benefits. And I will continue to pursue solutions that improve access to high-quality early education for families of young children, leaving decisions to parents, not the government.
Amanda Adkins is a leader in business innovation, a mother, the former chairwoman of the Kansas Children’s Cabinet, and a founder of SOCI, a nonprofit organization helping prepare children for the workforce. Amanda is running for Congress in Kansas’s 3rd District.
