As COVID upended domestic life, women's rate of self-employment rose faster than the share of men in the sector.

Child care is an essential service that parents rely on so they can work, attend school, or participate in training while knowing their children are well cared for in a stable and nurturing environment. For too long, child care has been out of reach for many families due to the lack of available care and the high price.

On April 9, 2022, legislators in Maryland overrode Governor Larry Hogan’s veto and enacted the Time to Care Act of 2022, making Maryland the tenth state (plus the District of Columbia) to offer paid family and medical leave to workers.

Black women are staying in the workforce, but their need for paid leave continues to go unmet.

The COVID-19 pandemic upended life for countless families and brought heightened attention to the plight of working parents. Recent IWPR studies find that during the pandemic, young mothers—especially those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged—experienced a sharp decline in employment and prolonged economic hardship for their families.

MomsRising member Deborah Purce and her husband live in Seattle with their three children. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, their child care program closed for several months and Deborah had to find a way to manage her job while caring for her children, since her husband’s essential health care job did not have any flexibility.

Comprehensive child care and early learning policy is a “win for all” policy: a pathway to progress on gender, racial, and income equality; healthy child development and family well-being; improved educational outcomes; and economic growth and prosperity.