Tokyo Business Today
As women around the world celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8, a startling reality sunk in. 47 million women – the equivalent of the entire country of Spain – have dropped out of the labor force due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the United Nations.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that in January 275,000 women left the labor force compared to 71,000 men.
One primary solution is child care.
That is why President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill is putting $50 billion into the child care sector.
Child care providers will get about $40 billion for operating expenses and tuition assistance for the children of essential workers, and families will get about $8 billion from a temporary expansion of tax breaks subsidizing dependent care. The goal is to help centers handle revenue shortfalls and increased costs while making it easier for mothers in particular, to return to work as the economy reopens.
“The law, in addition to $10 billion in assistance from December legislation, represents the largest one-time U.S. investment in child care,” said Mario Cardona, chief of policy and practice at Child Care Aware of America, an advocacy group.