As a model, I think this has a lot of merit. I plan to raise my daughters to think about how their work choices will interact with family life. Entrepreneurship? Scalable work like bookkeeping or private lessons? Small trade skills?
As for the policy changes, I think those would have to follow cultural attitudes. My impression is that most Millennials and Gen Z women don't trust men to be there for them, and they don't trust their ability to earn enough (or rather, employers to pay them enough) with the gap to live well in old age. And based on past performance, that's not a totally irrational distrust.
The progressive solution is to mandate equal pay. But what gets elided again and again, outside of econ circles anyway, is that at this point, the pay gap is mostly a function of different fields of interest and accrued experience. It's a reality that's hard to paper over with policy changes. Your suggestions might reduce the gap, but I doubt they would close it.
Now, is there a way for women to translate their caregiving skills to the workforce? That would be a stretch, but it would certainly be something if employers saw caregivers re-entering the workforce as bringing unique skills with them, rather than seeing them as losing skill in their time "off."
Of course you're still talking about lost wages at that point. An increased child tax credit would help a bit, but if we're giving that regardless of employment status, then it's still lost wages.
I think the reality is that we're not going to make much progress on quality of life over the whole course of life (which is what making sure women have good job/career opportunities is about) we have to learn to lean on each other. We have to get back to "til death do us part" and "Honor your father and mother."
Professional certification changes is one way to do this, but many jobs do not have such certifications, and we need 'on-ramps' for those jobs too. If you leave the workforce then try to re-enter after a few years, you are seen as no longer up-to-date, and your experience counts for very little. And nobody is going to hire you for an entry level job, even if you are willing to take one to get your foot back in the door, when you are competing with keen young folk willing to work long hours, travel etc, with no family commitments. We need structural change to allow people to take time off to care for the young, elderly and disabled, especially with the current elder care crisis. In UK science, the Wellcome Trust introduced career reentry programmes designed to do this - but they weren't even all awarded, because there were so few eligible candidates, because people have children at the same age or before their careers were deemed 'established' enough for the programme. Things like short-term grants for fast-track re-entry placements are needed to allow people to get back up to speed, across career types. Young women are not encouraged to consider this when career planning, they are just told 'you can do what men can' - but then find themselves in jobs where time out for caring is impossible. This is a disservice to them. As is calling family carers 'economically inactive'.
I am a serial career Mom and didn’t know it. I started as a camp director and took time off to care for children. I re-entered the workforce in ministry, starting as a consultant and slowly ramping up hours to half time. I have been able to do this effectively because of negotiation skills and relationships, not professional certifications. I have had the right conversation in the right place at the right time with the right person. I would call it grace :) but others might call it something different. I encourage my 2 daughters who know they would like to be mothers to keep the idea of flexible work close at hand when choosing skill sets they are interested in developing, because we all have experienced that the ‘quantity time’ with me at home was so healthy for our family when they were small, and continues to be as they have grown into teen and young adult years. I have loved this path! My kids are well loved and well adjusted. I see that we are making a difference in our community as a strong family. am grateful for your thoughtful advocacy, Ivana!
As a model, I think this has a lot of merit. I plan to raise my daughters to think about how their work choices will interact with family life. Entrepreneurship? Scalable work like bookkeeping or private lessons? Small trade skills?
As for the policy changes, I think those would have to follow cultural attitudes. My impression is that most Millennials and Gen Z women don't trust men to be there for them, and they don't trust their ability to earn enough (or rather, employers to pay them enough) with the gap to live well in old age. And based on past performance, that's not a totally irrational distrust.
The progressive solution is to mandate equal pay. But what gets elided again and again, outside of econ circles anyway, is that at this point, the pay gap is mostly a function of different fields of interest and accrued experience. It's a reality that's hard to paper over with policy changes. Your suggestions might reduce the gap, but I doubt they would close it.
Now, is there a way for women to translate their caregiving skills to the workforce? That would be a stretch, but it would certainly be something if employers saw caregivers re-entering the workforce as bringing unique skills with them, rather than seeing them as losing skill in their time "off."
Of course you're still talking about lost wages at that point. An increased child tax credit would help a bit, but if we're giving that regardless of employment status, then it's still lost wages.
I think the reality is that we're not going to make much progress on quality of life over the whole course of life (which is what making sure women have good job/career opportunities is about) we have to learn to lean on each other. We have to get back to "til death do us part" and "Honor your father and mother."
Yes, I agree this isn’t feasible if you don’t trust your spouse!
Professional certification changes is one way to do this, but many jobs do not have such certifications, and we need 'on-ramps' for those jobs too. If you leave the workforce then try to re-enter after a few years, you are seen as no longer up-to-date, and your experience counts for very little. And nobody is going to hire you for an entry level job, even if you are willing to take one to get your foot back in the door, when you are competing with keen young folk willing to work long hours, travel etc, with no family commitments. We need structural change to allow people to take time off to care for the young, elderly and disabled, especially with the current elder care crisis. In UK science, the Wellcome Trust introduced career reentry programmes designed to do this - but they weren't even all awarded, because there were so few eligible candidates, because people have children at the same age or before their careers were deemed 'established' enough for the programme. Things like short-term grants for fast-track re-entry placements are needed to allow people to get back up to speed, across career types. Young women are not encouraged to consider this when career planning, they are just told 'you can do what men can' - but then find themselves in jobs where time out for caring is impossible. This is a disservice to them. As is calling family carers 'economically inactive'.
That’s really interesting about the Wellcome Trust, thanks for mentioning that!
Comment from a senior WT employee at a conference, circa 2001.
I am a serial career Mom and didn’t know it. I started as a camp director and took time off to care for children. I re-entered the workforce in ministry, starting as a consultant and slowly ramping up hours to half time. I have been able to do this effectively because of negotiation skills and relationships, not professional certifications. I have had the right conversation in the right place at the right time with the right person. I would call it grace :) but others might call it something different. I encourage my 2 daughters who know they would like to be mothers to keep the idea of flexible work close at hand when choosing skill sets they are interested in developing, because we all have experienced that the ‘quantity time’ with me at home was so healthy for our family when they were small, and continues to be as they have grown into teen and young adult years. I have loved this path! My kids are well loved and well adjusted. I see that we are making a difference in our community as a strong family. am grateful for your thoughtful advocacy, Ivana!
I love this comment Melanie, thank you!