Sign the Petition, Tell Congress It's Time to Give Moms a COVID Bailout

By The Mom Congress Policy Team

U.S. Mothers are facing a crisis. Prior to COVID motherhood was difficult in the U.S. The pandemic has forced women to be a parent, teacher and employee at the same time, forcing many to leave the workforce.

According to a survey conducted by Motherly, 74% of U.S. mothers report feeling burned out and mentally worse since the pandemic began and, 30% of full-time working moms reported their primary cause of stress is child care, followed by worries around the mental health and well-being of family members.

The Center of American Progress notes, across the nation, mothers are driving forces of the American economy. Women, and mothers in particular, make up a significant proportion of the labor force, and their employment and wages are vital to the overall health of the labor market and the U.S. economy.

Further 64 percent of mothers are the primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners in their households. Women of color, and Black women in particular, are especially likely to play this role for their families -84.4% of Black mothers are breadwinners or co-breadwinners, as are 60.3% of Latinx mothers.

One in five working-age adults is unemployed because Covid-19 upended their child care arrangements, according to new research from the Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve. And of those not working, women are nearly three times more likely than men to remain home for the kids.

Child care is too often framed as an individual problem left up to parents to solve on their own, rather than a service for the public good and in support of women's economic equality.

We are urging Congress to work with the Department of Labor -Women's Bureau, the Bipartisan Policy Center, ZERO TO THREE and Mom Congress to develop policies on an urgent basis to provide mothers with affordable in-home child care.

It's time for a Motherhood COVID bailout.