Want to grow the economy? Invest in child care.
When it comes to the wage gap highlighted in Kara Miller’s column about how mothers get calls for family issues far more frequently than fathers (“Pardon the interruption,” Business, June 25), employers have the most to lose by not addressing it. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, only 71 workers exist for every 100 open jobs in the United States. Meanwhile, the Bipartisan Policy Center names lack of child care and other caregiving responsibilities as the two main reasons adults ages 25 to 54 are not in the workforce.
If employers want to stay at the cutting edge of their industries and maintain a competitive advantage on recruiting top talent, it is critical that they invest in career growth and retention strategies, champion flexibility and benefits such as paid leave and child-care assistance, and cultivate an inclusive culture that embraces caregivers.
To grow our economy, meet the challenges of our times, and set up future generations for success, it is essential that employers draw from the lessons mothers are teaching us, to rethink our workplaces so that everyone — employees and employers alike — can thrive.
Miriam Rubin
Boston
The writer is co-founder of Listen to Your Mothers.