工作场所的连接

Business executives and policymakers have been working hard to advance gender equity in the workplace, 哪一个对于最大限度地提高韧性至关重要, 创新, 以及私营部门的盈利能力. Other private and public sector leaders have emphasized the need for policies that are family-friendly so that employees can better manage their dual responsibilities of breadwinning and caregiving and hence be more productive and engaged with their jobs. And a growing coalition has fought for increased funding for and access to early childhood care and education, with the understanding that before the age of five is actually the most critical time for brain development. Children are at great advantage or disadvantage on their paths to success as productive and prosperous members of the workforce long before formal schooling begins.

经常, 然而, the campaigns to improve public or private sector policies in these areas occur in isolation or are inadequately connected to each other. 这是不幸的. The fragmentation of these efforts misses the crucial insight that gender equity, family-friendly policies, and early childhood care and education are intertwined. 没有其他两个就不可能有第一个.

Employers who care about gender equity in the workplace need to understand the importance of high-quality childcare and early childhood education programs in the communities in which their businesses are based. Policymakers who care about providing universal early childhood care and education because of their impacts on child development and learning must also care about paid parental leave and other family-friendly workplace policies. The positive impacts of these policies are not limited to the retention of employees; they also promote better outcomes for children. These are the very same children who will eventually be the adults entering the workforce in 20 years. And having had access to quality early childhood education is essential to healthy brain development which sets them up to thrive in their lives and careers.

让雇主在所有这些关键问题上取得进展, they must pay attention to these connections and should take the actions recommended in this report.

行动:支持员工的福利

Making workplace gender equity a reality requires employers to drive change across a number of areas, 包括提高女性的领导力, 消除妇女就业障碍, 减少无意识的偏见, 确保同工同酬, and changing the culture of work so that they can unlock the potential of people and teams and support the well-being of all employees.

行动:实现灵活性

Advancing women in leadership and addressing the gender earnings gap require understanding how women’s disproportionate responsibility for unpaid caregiving work is stalling their careers. 这种无报酬的照顾大部分都与生孩子有关, but the need for eldercare is also increasing as a result of our country’s aging population.

行动:提供负担得起的托儿服务

Fostering gender equity requires family-friendly workplace policies and especially affordable access to quality early childhood care and education. Investment in making quality early childhood care and education affordably accessible to working parents pays off for two generations at a time, because it is also investment in improving children’s life outcomes.

行动:展示领导力支持

The gender equity issues of managing unpaid work and paid work responsibilities aren’t just women’s issues: they are challenges for men as well. Changing the culture of work involves encouraging men to value caregiving and utilize benefits such as paid paternal leave. Employers can take leadership in implementing family-friendly practices in their own workplaces, demonstrating their support for workplace flexibility that includes paid leave and utilizing it themselves, 以及在联邦政府的宣传, 状态, and local levels for more effective policies on paid leave and early childhood care and education.