On Thursday, November 18th, Axios business reporter Erica Pandey discussed how the increased need for caregiving impacted labor force participation and considered how businesses can provide support for employee caregivers, featuring Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and National Women’s Law Center president & CEO Fatima Goss Graves.
Rep. Judy Chu highlighted the importance of a comprehensive caregiving economy and discussed potential solutions to the issues that are broken in the caregiving economy right now.
- On the importance of a comprehensive caregiving economy: “The worry that you have about a loved one is not confined to just a child, it’s not just confined to an elderly parent. It is everywhere. There are so many people who are just totally concerned about what they would do if a loved one does get sick. And that’s why paid leave is the ultimate solution…”
- On the need for support for caregivers through paid leave programs: “We are the only industrialized nation that does not have a national paid leave program. Our situation is such that only 23% of those in private industry have any kind of paid leave at all.”
Fatima Goss Graves illustrated how the pandemic impacted participation in the workforce for women and considered how businesses and governments can invest in the caregiving economy.
- On the current state of labor force participation for women: “Today, women’s share of the workforce is back to where we were in 1988 levels. This is not a thing that’s going to be solved overnight. Part of that problem is that we had a care crisis that was largely invisible even before the pandemic.”
- On how businesses should think about post-pandemic employee caregiving: “I think businesses who think everything is going to snap back in some post-pandemic world, and that people can pretend they no longer have children or families that they care for are making a giant mistake. What they should have hopefully learned in this period is how essential caregiving is for workers and that they can do their part.”
Axios VP of Events & Creative Strategy Kristin Burkhalter hosted a View from the Top segment with Facebook Head of US Policy Programs Avra Siegel, who emphasized why it is important for businesses to care for employees who are caring for their loved ones.
- “That’s why we created things like COVID leave, why we work with vendors to create programs to support people who are navigating the system for older adults that they care for. That’s why we’ve increased our wellness benefits, because so often it’s the caregiver that gets lost in all of this, the caregiver needs to be cared for as well.
Thank you Facebook for sponsoring this event.