It’s no secret that the cost of childcare in Arkansas, and nationally, is an expensive burden for many families. A new Arkansas-focused report quantifies and offers new insight into the crisis that is keeping many out of the workforce and lowering the income potential for struggling families.
The Women’s Foundation of Arkansas (WFA), with support from Ingeborg Initiatives, released “Holding It All Together: Working Moms and Childcare in Arkansas,” a research report examining how childcare costs, workplace flexibility and paid leave are shaping workforce participation and economic stability for families across the state.
“Childcare, workplace flexibility and paid leave are not perks; they are economic infrastructure,” said Anna Beth Gorman, CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas. “When working women and mothers cannot afford care or find jobs structured in ways that allow them to manage caregiving responsibilities, they are forced into impossible financial tradeoffs. Arkansas cannot afford to sideline this much talent. If we want a strong workforce and long-term economic growth, we must treat these issues as central to women’s economic security and the state’s competitiveness.”…