Why Employers SHOULD Support Working Parents

Why Employers SHOULD Support Working Parents
More than 150 days. That is how many days American children were home when the new school year started this Fall. Then, imagine hearing that your children would not be going back to school physically, but rather attending school virtually.
In September 2020, 865,000 women left the US workforce versus 216,000 men, and more than half were Latinx or Black. This is when our nation’s children went back to school and many working parents had to adapt to children learning from home with the pandemic still raging across the nation according to Working Mother Media.
As an employer, this weighs heavily on my heart knowing I have the ability, and in my opinion responsibility, to support my team members that have children and lead by example to other employers. In the creation of a new company, focused attention to the organizational culture is important and for Sara Minkara, LLC, we drive strategic solutions through value-based inclusion. Although I am not a parent myself, I was supported by my incredible parents. Their sacrifice, resilience, and strength not only empower me but has created a space for me to thrive.
One prime example of a working mother is my chief of staff. Liz and her husband have 3 boys between the ages of 10 – 13. As we just passed the one-year anniversary of the pandemic, it is important for all employers to remember the fine balancing act our team members, especially the working mothers, walk every day. Her words are just as relevant today as they were three months into the pandemic. She said:
“When our children came home for Spring Break in March [2020], most of us did not realize they would be coming home for the rest of the school year. In a recent TD Ameritrade survey of more than 1,000 working parents, 57% stated balancing working from home, homeschooling, and providing childcare for younger children was ‘too much to handle.’ In a March 2020 Gallup poll, 42% of parents were concerned that COVID-19 would negatively impact their child’s education. What is of great concern, according to a recent study by the Network for Public Education in a Washington Post, 55% of teachers and 59% of administrators believe that their students are likely to fall behind academically during their time at home due to the Coronavirus and summer vacation.”
This issue though can be made more complicated with additional factors. One of those factors is finding ways to ensure our children with disabilities attend and access school remotely, in addition to parents with disabilities attempting to navigate the pandemic. In a lifestyle blog by HelloGiggles, mothers with disabilities spoke out and mentioned that the biggest obstacle is “trying to normalize the way I thrive with my family, in a world that is pretty quick to point out that you’re different, where there is little to no representation for people with disabilities in general, let alone mothers with disabilities.” And the true challenge is the “judgment and assumptions that they face from others.”
As a person with a disability and watching the struggles my own team member balance parenthood and working through the pandemic, I can’t help but think of the additional challenges for parents with disabilities and how they are attempting to navigate this often times inaccessible world during unprecedented times.
As employers, and society as a whole, it is so important to come from a place of compassion and understand that working parents ARE creating value. My mother invested her life into my siblings and I, and ultimately made us who we are today: a doctor, a business owner, a cyber security specialist. That is VALUE.
Employers must be cognizant of this and look beyond the short-term return. If you have a team member who has children, consider long-term loyalty for you providing extra flexibility today. If you have a team member who has a disability or a child with a disability, provide extra grace knowing there is an added layer of stress raising children through this pandemic.
Click the link below to see how employers SHOULD be supporting families: https://www.unicef.org/azerbaijan/7-ways-employers-can-support-working-parents-during-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-outbreak