Childcare and COVID-19: How the Global Pandemic is threatening The Early Childhood Education Sector
The livelihood of working women in today’s society depends on affordable and accessible childcare throughout the nation. With women rising in ranks professionally and climbing corporate ladders, having access to childcare is essential for women to stay in the workforce. Despite the pressing need for quality yet affordable childcare, the current state of the Early Childhood Education sector has become a barrier for parents, especially mothers, who disproportionately take on caregiving responsibilities when their family cannot find or afford childcare.
Prior to COVID-19, the Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector faced troubling factors, placing them into a precarious state, only to be exacerbated by the current global crisis. Due to inadequate funding, low pay for teachers, and a lack of resources, the ECE sector has been neglected by policymakers on a state and federal level. For far too long, the United States has gotten away with underfunding and providing insufficient access to quality childcare for women, and especially for low income families and people of color. The coronavirus pandemic has only amplified these disparities, proving the current system in place is failing American families and ECE providers.
