"Childcare isn't a private issue. It isn't an 'in the house' or a family issue that doesn't need to be discussed within our larger society. Rather, it's crippling people's ability to get back to work and spur economic growth — and should be treated as such."

- Misty L. Heggeness, Economist
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Truths
After celebrating our mothers last Sunday, our team is thinking about the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicating 165,000 women age 20 and over withdrew from the labor force (meaning they aren't employed and aren't searching for a job). Although the employment rate for women has been steadily improving since January, April's report signaled a surprising loss to many economists, who projected the unemployment rate would fall to 5.8 (it increased instead - from 6% - 6.1%), and after 495,000 women joined the labor force in March.

So what's behind the unexpected drop? Misty L. Heggeness, a principal economist and senior advisor at the US Census Bureau, has a theory, "I think we've all been very hopeful that we're turning the corner, and we're moving forward, and that components of this pandemic — that the big principal issues of the pandemic are behind us — but I think that we need to rethink that," she told Business Insider in a call. "That's not true for a subset of our workforce. I think we've seen improvements until now because these have been the low-hanging fruits."
Tools
We are celebrating with other working moms this week and highlighting the work Allison Robinson, CEO and Founder, has going on at The Mom Project. Serena Williams is a strategic advisor for this startup whose mission is to connect talented women with companies (Facebook, Nike, Etsy, Delta, Uber, and Twitter are among participating companies) that have flexible work hours, part-time work, and supportive benefits. They have more than 200,000 moms in their network and have connected mothers to $50 million in economic opportunities.
Triumphs
Celebrating the work at Carolina Family Engagement Center, which focuses on underserved families and their students - providing them tools, training, and materials statewide. With all the increased challenges working mothers, in particular, are facing as more and more return to the workforce, it's inspiring to read about a life-changing moment - one that shows how impactful not only advocacy can be, but also how important it is for women to know they are heard.

Click here to read Julia Beaty's story.
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