The American child care crisis is decades old and continues to disproportionately affect women. Although the child care field—which is 90 percent women—received funding to make sure it survives the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of substantial, long-term funding for affordable, accessible, and high-quality child care options continues to push women out of the workforce and cause issues with retaining qualified early childhood teachers. It is time to end the U.S. child care crisis and its disproportionate effects on women. It is time to pass robust, sustained public funding.
Erin Robinson is the campaign manager for Early Childhood Policy at the Center for American Progress. Darya Nicol is the digital communications associate for Early Childhood Policy at the Center.