This originally appeared on Forbes on November 10, 2022.
Lack of childcare disproportionally impacts working women. Recent statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a record number of parents had to stay home from work in October to take care of their children. The effects of a “tripledemic” have likely exacerbated this problem — a perfect storm of flu season, Covid (and school and daycare attendance policies) and an unusually high rate of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases.
With more parents required to keep their kids at home, we can’t ignore the negative effect this has on work performance. While those with the ability to work from home could theoretically watch over an ill child on the clock—cue a collective parental eye roll—the likelihood of that day being productive is slim. For example, during the pandemic, not having childcare over the course of a week translated to a loss of about 8 working hours. Put simply, parents need affordable childcare to thrive at work.