Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

Child care costs are a big part of why Americans feel inflation still stings

Prices have climbed persistently, yet the service is persistently scarce. That, in turn, hurts kids and undermines the labor force.
Women are working slightly less since 2019, and the extra time is devoted mostly to child care or elder care, said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Global gender gap is closing, but parity is more than 100 years away, report says

Jun 21, 2023
The World Economic Forum says in some countries, women's status is declining, and global gender parity is 131 years away.
The United States ranks 43rd in the world in gender parity, according to the World Economic Forum report.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

California wants more women in construction. Child care grants will help.

Jun 7, 2023
The state is awarding $25 million in grants to get more women into construction apprenticeships that can lead to high-paying jobs.
Tamarra Hayward receives a certificate of completion after a six-week pre-apprenticeship training program on March 30.
Beth LaBerge/KQED

Women's labor force participation rate reaches an all-time high

Jun 2, 2023
Millions of women left the workforce early in the pandemic. The strong job market and flexible working conditions have brought many back.
When COVID hit, many women exited the workforce as the service sector collapsed and their children were schooled at home. Now, women's employment is bouncing back.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Women's labor force participation is rising, but barriers remain

Mar 14, 2023
Women's labor force participation is approaching pre-pandemic levels, but childcare is still limiting some women's return to paid work.
Data from the February jobs report show that women are continuing to get more involved in the workforce, but barriers like access to childcare remain.
Getty Images

The global economic cost of gender inequality in the workplace? $7 trillion per year

Mar 6, 2023
A new study finds that more women in the workforce — and fewer roadblocks to their success — could grow the global economy significantly by boosting productivity.
Actions like lowering child care costs could lower the barriers to women entering the workforce.
Jaime Reina/AFP via Getty Images

This nonprofit wants to put more women in national security jobs

Jan 18, 2023
Girl Security is working to change perceptions of the field and encouraging women to bring their valuable experiences to the space.
Women make up only 20% of the national security workforce, but the nonprofit Girl Security is looking to change that. Above, the Pentagon.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Women's return to work a stop-and-start struggle

Oct 6, 2022
The availability of affordable child care is limiting mothers' options for returning to full-time work after the pandemic.
Stable, affordable child care remains a persistent barrier to women reentering the workforce.
Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images

What will happen to women of color in the COVID-19 workforce?

Jun 9, 2022
“In almost every single state, the first person to be vaccinated was a woman of color,” says the 19th’s economy reporter Chabeli Carrazana.
A registered nurse vaccinates an 83-year-old woman at her home in Manchester, Connecticut, in February 2021.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Limited abortion access could threaten women's role in the economy

May 4, 2022
The expected decision means more people will be forced to continue unplanned pregnancies, which can make it harder to find or keep a job.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, more pregnant people will be unable to work, which could have larger economic ramifications.
David Ryder/Getty Images