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New Marshall Plan for Moms Study Finds Child Care Benefits Key to Attracting, Retaining, and Advancing Women at Work

New Marshall Plan for Moms Study Finds Child Care Benefits Key to Attracting, Retaining, and Advancing Women at Work
PR Newswire
NEW YORK, May 11, 2022

Marshall Plan for Moms will organize a “National Business Coalition for Child Care” with aim of …

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New Marshall Plan for Moms Study Finds Child Care Benefits Key to Attracting, Retaining, and Advancing Women at Work

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, May 11, 2022

  • Marshall Plan for Moms will organize a "National Business Coalition for Child Care" with aim of expanding child care supports for workers; Archewell, Athletes Unlimited, Care.com, Gibson Dunn, Fast Retailing, Patagonia, and Synchrony signed on 

NEW YORK, May 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Marshall Plan for Moms released a new report "The Business Case for Child Care: How Parent-Focused Employee Value Propositions Help Companies Win the War for Talent." In a historically tight labor market, the report found that expanded child care benefits could further companies' efforts to attract, retain, and advance women and help bring women back to work following their exodus from the labor force during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employer child care supports can improve the recruitment, retention, productivity, and happiness of employees

The report was created by Marshall Plan for Moms to examine the impact of the current ecosystem of child care supports in the U.S. on companies and workers, and how the private sector can play a role in addressing child care needs, while also helping companies win the war for talent. McKinsey & Company served as a knowledge partner for the report, providing research, data, and analysis, including insights from a survey of 1000+ American parents with children ages 0-5. 

The study found that for mothers of young children, expanded child care benefits from employers is a deciding factor in their employment. According to the survey, 69% of women with children under 5 would be more likely to choose an employer that offered on-site child care or benefits to help pay for child care. Furthermore, 83% reported that child care benefits would be an important factor in deciding whether to stay with their current employer or look to switch employers. Child care supports were also found to have a bearing on women's advancement, or lack thereof: 53% of women with young children who left the workforce temporarily, took on less hours, or moved to a less demanding job cited child care as one of the reasons.

"The input from working parents is clear: employer child care supports can improve the recruitment, retention, productivity, and happiness of employees," said Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Marshall Plan for Moms. "This is not only crucial for the health and wellbeing of individual American families, but also central to American economic competitiveness."

The report provides a detailed backdrop showing the United States' patchwork child care system is in a state of crisis, leaving working parents to struggle across many challenges including Affordability, Accessibility, Convenience, Reliability, and Quality. For a stunning 80% of families, accessing center-based child care exceeds the HHS-recommended affordability level of 7% of household income. At the same time, just 13% of two-year-old children attend childcare that is rated as "high quality." 

These challenges were found to disproportionately impact mothers. Of the parents surveyed, 75% of women reported being primary caregivers at home. 45% of mothers who left the workforce cited child care expense or availability as one of the reasons they left, compared to 14% of men with children the same age. Indeed, recent jobs numbers indicate there were 1.1 million fewer women in the labor force in January 2022 compared to February 2020, even though an additional 100,000 men entered the labor force during the same time period. 

Despite the fact that access to suitable child care is key to helping women return to the workplace and stay there long-term, only 1 in 11 parents surveyed reported having access to financial subsidies to pay for child care or on-site child care at their employer. With record numbers of employees leaving their jobs amid the Great Resignation, Marshall Plan for Moms' report offers guidance for businesses to create their own child care benefits solutions, tailored to employees' needs and suited to individual business models. 

National Business Coalition for Child Care

In light of the report's findings and the unique opportunity for business leaders, Marshall Plan for Moms will launch a "National Business Coalition for Child Care." Coalition members have an interest in pursuing solutions that equitably provide child care supports for employees, demonstrate willingness to take action, increase transparency by sharing their policies, data, and best practices and speak out publicly on the importance of child care to the US economic health and competitiveness and normalize the challenges of working parents. 

Leading organizations including Archewell, Athletes Unlimited, Care.com, Fast Retailing, Gibson Dunn, Patagonia, and Synchrony have already signed on, helping to usher in an era of more equitable, productive, and sustainable workplaces that will unleash the full potential of their employees and the broader American economy.

"Families everywhere, and especially working moms, are asked to shoulder so much," said Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, mom of two and Co-Founder of Archewell. "This has only been heightened by the pandemic, with increased caregiving responsibilities, rising prices, and economic uncertainty. As it's been said many times, it takes a village to raise a child. Today, we're sending a message that childcare isn't just a community imperative—it's a business imperative. Creating a stronger workforce starts with meeting the needs of families." 

"Athletes Unlimited is honored to be one of an innovative group of inaugural organizations committed to improving the rights of working moms," said Jon Patricof, CEO and Co-Founder of Athletes Unlimited. "As a network of player-driven sports leagues comprised of four pro women's sports, we recognize the challenges of working moms in sports and are determined to continue to improve their experience by providing child care services during season helping them continue to play and spend quality time with their families."

"Although the pandemic brought this private struggle into the public light, child care difficulties for working parents have always existed," said Tim Allen, CEO of Care.com. "These challenges will remain unless employers take action. In an effort to be a part of the solution, Care.com partners with employers to supply care benefits that support employees as their needs evolve. We are proud to join the coalition to further advocate for mothers in the workforce." 

"At UNIQLO, Theory and Helmut Lang we are committed to help meet the needs of our employees and their families," said Serena Peck, Group Executive Officer of Fast Retailing. "The Childcare Stipend policy is an important initiative, providing financial relief for our members as their families grow."

"At Gibson Dunn, we appreciate the importance of family and understand how critical childcare is to our employees," said Zakiyyah Salim-Williams, Chief Diversity Officer at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.  "We have a number of policies and practices that support working parents, from providing additional Bright Horizons backup childcare days to enhancing our flexibility and leave offerings.  Last, our Gibson Dunn Families coaching program and Parenting Groups serve as a resource for our employees."

"Making onsite childcare available and offering paid family and medical leave is not just ethical, it's foundational to Patagonia's mission to save the home planet," said Patagonia, Inc. President Jenna Johnson. "To retain and attract top talent and create a more supportive and productive work culture, we need policies that encourage women to stay here. I don't even think of this as a 'benefit,' it's a business imperative."

"At Synchrony, we believe investing in our people allows us to remain an employer of choice now and for the future," said Carol Juel, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology and Operating Officer at Synchrony. "Providing affordable, reliable and flexible childcare support is critical to meet the needs of working parents and a diverse, hybrid workforce. Together, we will continue to lean into innovative solutions that retain and advance women at work and prioritize flexibility, inclusivity and wellness for all."

The full Business Case for Child Care Report, including details on methodology, and information about joining the National Business Coalition for Child Care can be found at www.MarshallPlanforMoms.com/Childcare-Report. 

ABOUT MARSHALL PLAN FOR MOMS
Marshall Plan for Moms is a national non-profit organization working to transform our workplaces, our government, and our culture to value women's labor and enable moms to thrive. Founded by Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani, we advocate for public and private sector changes to expand choices for women and remove barriers to equality, finishing the fight for women's equality once and for all. 

ABOUT ARCHEWELL
Archewell is the organization founded by Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex that currently includes Archewell Foundation, Archewell Audio, and Archewell Productions. At Archewell, we unleash the power of compassion to drive systemic cultural change. We do this through our non-profit work within Archewell Foundation 501(c)(3), in addition to creative activations through the business verticals of audio and production.

ABOUT ATHLETES UNLIMITED
Athletes Unlimited is a new model of pro sports where athletes are decision-makers and individual players are champions of team sports. Athletes Unlimited literally changes the game with faster play and new team rosters every week, delivering next-level competition and engagement in which every moment counts. The first season of women's softball took place in 2020, with the inaugural seasons of women's indoor volleyball and women's lacrosse being completed in 2021, along with season two of softball. We completed our inaugural Basketball league season two of volleyball in 2022 and are slated to host our inaugural AUX Softball league in June followed by second lacrosse and third Championship Softball season in late July. For more information, visit AUProSports.com.

ABOUT CARE.COM
Available in more than 20 countries, Care.com is the world's leading platform for finding and managing high-quality family care. Care.com is designed to meet the evolving needs of today's families and caregivers, offering everything from household tax and payroll services and customized corporate benefits packages covering the care needs of working families, to innovating new ways for caregivers to be paid and obtain professional benefits. Since 2007, families have relied on Care.com's industry-leading products—from child and elder care to pet care and home care. Care.com is an IAC company (NASDAQ: IAC). 

ABOUT FAST RETAILING
Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. is a leading Japanese retail holding company with global headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. UNIQLO is the largest of eight brands in the Fast Retailing Group, the others being GU, Theory, PLST (Plus T), Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse tam.tam, J Brand, and Helmut Lang.  Fast Retailing is one of the world's largest apparel retail companies. With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For more information about Fast Retailing, please visit www.fastretailing.com.

ABOUT GIBSON DUNN
Gibson Dunn is a full-service international law firm that advises on the most significant transactions and complex litigation around the world. Consistently achieving top rankings in industry surveys and major publications, Gibson Dunn is distinctively positioned in today's global marketplace with more than 1,600 lawyers and 20 offices. To learn more about Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, please visit https://www.gibsondunn.com/.

ABOUT PATAGONIA 
Founded in 1973, Patagonia is a Certified Benefit Corporation that is recognized internationally for product quality and environmental activism. Patagonia has contributed more than $145 million in grants and in-kind donations to date to grassroots nonprofits working to protect people and the planet.

ABOUT SYNCHRONY
Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) is a premier consumer financial services company delivering one of the industry's most complete digitally-enabled product suites. Our experience, expertise and scale encompass a broad spectrum of industries including digital, health and wellness, retail, telecommunications, home, auto, powersports, pet and more. We have an established and diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers, which we refer to as our "partners."  We connect our partners and consumers through our dynamic financial ecosystem and provide them with a diverse set of financing solutions and innovative digital capabilities to address their specific needs and deliver seamless, omnichannel experiences.  We offer the right financing products to the right customers in their channel of choice. For more information, visit www.synchrony.com and Twitter: @Synchrony.

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SOURCE Marshall Plan for Moms

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The Grand Realpolitik Divergence

The diverging relationship between economic performance and political success in the U.S. highlights a shift from the past, where a strong economy positively…

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3 hours ago

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March 22, 2024

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The diverging relationship between economic performance and political success in the U.S. highlights a shift from the past, where a strong economy positively impacted incumbent approval ratings. President Biden’s approval ratings remain unaffected despite recent economic improvements, suggesting a decoupling of economic sentiment and political fortunes. This phenomenon, which contrasts with stable economic-political linkages in Europe, is attributed to the U.S.’s heightened partisan divide, where political allegiance increasingly dictates economic perception, challenging the traditional belief that “it’s the economy, stupid” in American politics.

Key Points:

  • President Clinton’s political advisor, James Carville, highlighted the economy’s role in political success during 1992 presidential campaign with assertion, “It’s the economy, stupid.”
  • Voter sentiment has traditionally linked to economic performance, affecting incumbent party success.
  • Recent trends show a disconnect between the U.S. economy’s health and President Biden’s approval ratings.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic and inflation crisis may have influenced this anomaly, yet the shift predates these events.
  • Research indicates a decoupling of economic sentiment and presidential approval in the U.S. since Obama’s tenure.
  • This phenomenon seems unique to the U.S., with European governments’ popularity still tied to economic conditions.
  • S. political polarization may explain the decoupling, with partisan views influencing economic perceptions.
  • Studies suggest that political biases skew individual economic assessments, impacting presidential approval.
  • The current U.S. political climate suggests economic policy impact on electoral decisions is diminishing.
  • Contrasts with Europe, where economic sentiment is more uniform across political lines, suggesting a more rational political-economic relationship.

Source: Financial Times

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Wake-Up Call

Wake-Up Call

Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

“Those who organized the disaster will take advantage of the inevitable…

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4 hours ago

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March 22, 2024

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Wake-Up Call

Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

“Those who organized the disaster will take advantage of the inevitable discontent arising from efforts to overcome it, for if there is one thing that they are skilled in, it is demagoguery.”

- Theodore Dalrymple

Can you feel it? The tension rising to the red-line? It runs clear through all of Western Civ. We are ruled by governments of fiends. But now, the sun rides higher in the sky. The sap is rising in the northern forests. The earth heaves. The buds swell and blush. Something is in the air. The animals are waking from their long winter sleep. The natives are restless.

The two traditional political divisions, liberal and conservative died with Covid. Now there are simply the sane versus the insane. The sane have had enough of being pushed around by the insane. The insane don’t register much of what reality tries to tell them. They have a body of insane ideas to comfort and protect them from the reality’s rigors. To call that body of ideas an “ideology” is way too polite.That the insane call themselves “progressive,” is a signature of their insanity.

Progress toward what better state of things? Toward a supremacy of fiends, sadists, degenerates, and morons seizing riches and power by every dishonest means possible outside the rule of law and common decency? It’s not even suitable to call them “communists.” They lack the necessary idealism for that.

They don’t expect to put their shoulders to the wheel with their fellow man. They just want to grab your stuff and then kill you so they don’t have to hear any complaints.

The insane do not believe any of the theoretical bullshit they want to force you to swallow. They don’t care about climate change. It’s just a cudgel they use to beat everyone over the head so they can steal your stuff. They don’t care about “democracy.” It’s just a line of bullshit to cover up their election-stealing. Do you suppose that sane people would keep using electronic vote-tabulating machines that were demonstrably connected to the Internet, and thus hackable, if they cared about election integrity? Of course not. They would arrange p.d.q. to junk them and use paper ballots, and only in person at polling places, with “absentee” exceptions only for people out of the country.

The insane do not care about public health. Everything that is known about the Covid-19 vaccinations tells you that they are unsafe and don’t prevent infection or transmission of a flu-like illness that might not even be what it was officially labeled as. Our public health officials in the FDA, the CDC, and in other corners of the Department of health and Human Services, lie about everything they’re responsible for. This week, the CDC (under Director Mandy Cohen) released a 148-page study on myocarditis reactions to mRNA shots. Every word on every page of the document was redacted. The CDC printed countless copies of the report with 148 utterly blank pages, and then proffered them to the news media. How is that not insane?

The insane do not care about the rule of law. The conduct of “Lawfare” is the subversion of the law by dishonest means. It is a species of racketeering. And that is why Lawfare rogues such Marc Elias, Norm Eisen, Andrew Weissmann, Mary McCord, Lisa Monaco, Matthew Graves, and Merrick Garland, should be charged under the federal RICO statutes for conspiring to deprive sane citizens of their rights and property in the many cases related to the 1/6/21 riot at the US Capitol.

It is, so far, an abiding mystery of contemporary history as to how New York Attorney General Letitia James managed to get away with prosecuting a real estate case against Donald Trump that was no more than victimless business-as-usual between a borrower and his lenders. Ms. James ran for that elected office promising to “get” Mr. Trump on something, anything. That is not how the rule of law works. Under the rule of law, first you determine that there is a crime and then look for who did the crime.

Letitia James must be insane and/or pretty stupid. The short-term gain of stealing Mr. Trump’s property under a false color-of-law and creating impediments to his election campaign, will, sooner or later, blow back at her as a matter of malicious prosecution and, plausibly, racketeering as well. (With whom did she conspire to bring this case? We shall find out.) She will eventually be disgraced publicly as her teammate Fani Willis has already been disgraced in Fulton County, Georgia. I’ll tell you something that all sane people now know but won’t talk about for fear of being crushed by the levers of Lawfare: this looks like a concerted effort by people-of-color to railroad people of non-color. If you think that is a good thing for race relations in our country, then you are insane.

Here are a bunch of other things that are insane: Re-litigating the first amendment is insane. It means what it says, and states it plainly. The open border is insane. No credible sovereign polity would allow it. It would be opposed with force, if necessary. Turning children into transsexuals on a wholesale basis is insane, and fiendishly so. Everybody knows that it is not good for the children or for our society as a whole. But fiends got to fiend, and if you try to deprive them of being fiends then you are guilty of “hate.”

The war in Ukraine is insane. We certainly didn’t ignite it in the service of “democracy.” Our pawn there, Mr. Zelensky, canceled the national elections last year. The war was arguably an effort by our CIA to deprive Russia of its market for natgas in Europe, and thus deprive Russia of a great deal of money, that is, of prosperity. The project failed. Russia overcame NATO’s proxy army and found other markets for its gas. Blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines only served to impoverish and weaken our NATO allies, who no longer have affordable gas to run their industries. The leaders of those allies were too insane to recognize that the Nord Stream op was an act-of-war against them. They were also busy destroying themselves, like the USA, with open borders. They will end up in a new medievalism, ruled by savages. You’d have to be insane to arrange that for yourself.

What’s most obviously insane in our country is that the insane party is pretending to nominate the mentally unfit White House place-keeper, “Joe Biden,” for reelection. You would think that if this party wanted to retain power, they would run a candidate who, though insane, was not also visibly senile. But the rank and file of this party are too insane to see that this dodge is not working. They are pretending with all their might that this is okay, that the growing faction of the sane don’t notice.

Sensing the growing impatience with insanity among the voters, the insane party has reached its point of terminal desperation. What will they try next? Murder? Why not? Nothing else seemed to work. They are too far gone in their insanity to understand that winter is over. We’ve entered the season of rebirth and renewal, starting with a renewed appreciation for being sane and for that indispensable ingredient that makes liberty in a free society possible: good faith. Really, the only question left is: how rough do they intend to play to prevent the return of sanity and good faith?

*  *  *

Support his blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page or Substack

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/22/2024 - 16:25

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Rising insurance costs, ample inventory create a unique market in Southwest Florida

Despite a slower housing market, agents are optimistic about what the spring and summer will bring

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8 hours ago

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March 22, 2024

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Unlike many other metropolitan areas across the country, the housing market in Southwest Florida is comparably flush with for-sale inventory.

“I think one of the major trends we are seeing is that our overall inventory is up 60% year over year compared to 2023,” said PJ Smith, president of the Naples Area Board of Realtors and the broker-owner of Naples Golf to Gulf Real Estate. “We are seeing a healthy increase in inventory, which we really needed.”

According to data from Altos Research as of March 15, the 90-day average number of single-family active listings in the Naples-Marco Island metro area was 2,362, up from 1,605 one year earlier but down from the 3,760 listings recorded in late March 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the nearby metro area of Cape Coral-Fort Myers, active single-family inventory over the previous 90 days averaged 6,500 listings as of March 15, above its March 2020 level of 5,044 listings and approaching its March 2019 level of 7,243 listings.

Smith attributes the uptick in inventory to a bump in new listings. The 90-day average number of new listings as of mid-March 2024 was 170 in Naples-Marco Island, and 432 in Cape Coral-Fort Myers). There is also some pent-up desire to sell being released by a steadier interest rate environment and an overall slower market.

Southwest-Florida-New-Listings-Line-Chart-90-day-Single-Family

“Last year we were still adjusting from the effects of the pandemic market, but now the trends seem to be getting back to our baseline, which is more like our 2019 market,” Smith said. “Days on market is also trending back to what is more normal for our market as well.”

Data from Altos Research shows that the 90-day average median number of days on market in the Naples-Marco Island metro area was 70 days as of mid-March, up from a record low of 21 days in mid-May 2022.

Naples-Marco-Island-Median-Days-on-Market-Line-Chart-Naples-Marco-Island-FL-90-day-Single-Family

While some properties are sitting on the market longer, Smith noted that those in good condition, priced well and in a desirable location are still selling quickly.

“I just sold a property after two days on the market,” Smith said. “We are still seeing properties go pending quickly and some with multiple offers.”

Local real estate professionals attribute the slower market to a variety of factors including higher home prices, which have remained steady despite the slowdown, higher interest rates, and rising costs for homeowners and flood insurance.

“Florida, like many places, is seeing the insurance piece of the component impacting people’s payments in a way that is making it hard to them to navigate the market,” said Cyndee Haydon, a Seminole-based agent for Future Home Realty agent.

According to an analysis by S&P Global, between 2018 and 2023, homeowners insurance rates in Florida have jumped by 43.2%. From 2022 to 2023 alone, rates rose 15%. And data from the Insurance Information Institute shows that Floridian homeowners are paying an average of nearly $6,000 a year in insurance, which is nearly three times what they paid in 2019. In comparison, the average U.S. homeowners insurance policy was roughly $1,700 in 2023.

Compounding the rising insurance costs is the fact that many insurers and reinsurers have made the decision to leave the state. These companies have cited the recent uptick in the number and severity of hurricanes and other weather-related disasters impacting the Sunshine State.

“Florida is seeing notably more hurricanes, so continuous years of poor experience, meaning losses for the insurance carriers, they have no choice but to increase those premiums,” said Sean Kent, the senior vice president of insurance at FirstService Financial.

“Additionally, there are just a few carriers that are willing to participate and insure some of those units, so accessibility to coverage has been reduced significantly.”

These rising costs are understandably impacting the ability or willingness of some buyers to purchase specific properties.

“Insurance is an expense that is expected — but nothing as substantial as we are seeing today,” said Sheryl Houck, a Tampa-based eXp Realty agent. “We are seeing contracts fall through during the due-diligence period because of the sticker shock on insurance costs, so that is definitely a problem.”

Due to this, real estate professionals are bringing insurance partners into their transactions much earlier than before.

“It is definitely a significant concern and issue,” Smith said. “What we recommend is that before you put a property under contract, you consult and get a quote so that you know what your potential insurance costs will be.”

In addition to navigating rising insurance costs with buyers, agents said they have also had to field questions from past clients about the rising premiums, who often need help in finding ways to lower their costs.

“We have instances where clients reach out and ask why they are seeing a 62% jump in their insurance, but we have been able to help them, whether that’s raising their deductible or putting them in touch with some of our other insurance contacts,” Houck said.

Despite rising insurance costs that make homeownership in these markets more costly, local real estate professionals don’t feel that this is behind the recent uptick in new listings.

“We’ve seen a lot of people move out of state to more affordable markets,” Houck said, ”but it is all relative because we are also seeing a lot of people moving in, because our market is more affordable than New York or California.”

Still, if premiums continue to rise, agents feel like this could become a bigger issue, especially for the area’s large population of retirees.

“When we look at people that are getting closer to retirement or have a fixed income, it becomes more and more of a concern,” Haydon said. “People are really being pinched with affordability.”

But while rising insurance costs are certainly a challenge for owners and buyers in Southwest Florida, Haydon said the slower housing market is good news for a lot of buyers.

“I have negotiated some of the most incredible deals for my buyers that are in the market right now that I have seen since the 2008 housing market crash,” Haydon said. “I had a buyer last month and the property was listed as $475,000, but with the necessary repairs, its value was $410,000 and we were able to negotiate an offer for $410,000.

“Normally, I would tell buyers that if they are 10% off the list price, they are dealing in different realities than the seller.”

Haydon said she has also recently had offers accepted with sale contingencies, closing cost coverages and a variety of other seller concessions.

Although things have slowed from the height of the frenzied post-pandemic market, local agents are optimistic about where the market is headed this spring and summer.

“It is very busy. Literally since Jan. 1, the spigot has turned on,” said Dyan Pithers, co-founder of The Pithers Group, a Tampa-based and Coldwell Banker Realty-brokered firm. “There are a lot of buyers in the market, and we are really focusing on showing value to sellers to get those listings out there so there are homes for buyers to purchase. It is going to be a really strong spring and summer.”

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