This International Women's Day, I'd like to talk about childcare

I'm not a mother and have no current plans to become one but childcare in the UK isn't working for anyone. The current system isn't working for mothers, it's not working for those employed in the childcare sector (mostly women), it's stifling our economy and our organisations are losing out on some incredible talent.

"It's the Economy, Stupid"

The Centre for Progressive Policy estimates that the UK economy is losing out on ￡27-38 bn per year due to unsuitable childcare. The same report estimates that hundreds of thousands of mothers in the UK have cut down their hours or quit their jobs completely. 27% of mothers surveyed said they would like to work more hours If they had access to suitable childcare. Those hours could amount to output of around 1% of GDP. Our organisations are losing amazing talent from their workforces and our economy is losing out too.

#EmbraceEquity

The theme of this year's International Women's Day Campaign is #EmbraceEquity. Beyond the economic argument, there are some huge reasons to advocate for change to our childcare system in the UK:

• A PwC survey & report found that the "motherhood penalty" is the top driver of the UK's gender pay gap which is widening four times faster than the OECD average.
• The organisation, Pregnant Then Screwed, surveyed 20k+ families of which 2/3 shared they spend as much as (or more than) their mortgage on childcare. Returning to work, even part-time, simply isn't an economic option for some mothers. This is even more pronounced for single parents.
• The childcare sector is largely staffed by women earning relatively low incomes and their voices should not be missing from this debate. Lockdown demonstrated just how essential this sector is, yet so often, work with a high representation of women in its workforce isn't valued by our society. Working in the tech industry, I was surprised to learn several years ago how the value of computer programming has changed since it was first performed by women and viewed as a clerical and low-value occupation. In fact, a lot of the work women perform isn't valued at all. Oxfam estimates the value of unpaid labour performed by women (upon which our economies depend) would be three times that of the global tech industry, were it to be valued at minimum wage.
• Research shows that access to high-quality early-years care positively impacts outcomes across educational attainment, cognitive, behavioural and social development, as well as earning-potential. Sadly, high-quality childcare is scarce compared to the demand and securing a reliable arrangement is a stressful and often impossible task for working parents.
• Current paternity and parental leave laws can have a negative impact on gender equality. Not giving fathers and non-birthing partners enough paid time off further encourages families to remain stuck in the stereotypes. I'm not advocating for every father to stay at home or every mother to return to work, but I am advocating for parental leave policies & childcare infrastructure that allow genuine choice, enable all families to #EmbraceEquity and make the right decisions for them.

Hope for Change

I'm a pragmatic optimist (how else can you believe in bringing about progressive change?) so, here are three reasons to be hopeful:

1. UK MP, Stella Creasy, successfully tabled an amendment to the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill that means childcare can be treated and funded as infrastructure (akin to rail, roads, housing etc.).
2. There are early signs this will be a leading issue at the next UK General Election (as it was recently in Australia).
3. Thanks to the work of organisations like Pregnant Then Screwed and Employee Resource Groups (like Women@ and Parents@ here at LinkedIn) I feel comfortable, encouraged even, to share this post so publicly.

I'd like to extend a HUGE thank you to Sophie Hirst, who was kind enough to share feedback and input as I crafted my thoughts on this topic. I'd like to give the final words to her:

"It's really difficult, particularly as a first time parent, to know what to look for in a Nursery (or Childminder). It's also very pressured, given that you have to look around when your baby is still very much a baby and it's hard to even imagine dropping them off there.?

Additionally, the days you want / your workplace will be happy with, are likely already gone. It's not unheard of for people to try and reserve spaces pre-conception!

So, for the better nurseries, you have to be lucky, very flexible or pushy. We had secured 2 days at our preferred nursery and we were topping up the childcare with grandparents. Not ideal, given that our child would have up to 7 caregivers! This does not make for a consistent and structured child-rearing approach IMHO. We only managed to secure my third day by dint of someone moving away, so the grandparents were off the hook!?Additionally, word travels fast about which ones are the better ones so you're up against a lot of competition for your preferred nursery and days.?Out of the 8 nurseries I viewed, I would say I would have been 'happy' with only 2!

Today's newborns are projected to live until 100 years of age, let's invest in them!"