SAN DIEGO — Wen is a mother of two who left a career she loved after she had kids.
She was an occupational therapist for 20 years working with children. But like many moms, she felt she had to choose between her kids or her career.
“I started to crack a little bit. I was thinking something needs to change. I can’t be juggling all these plates and keeping everything up in the air."
COVID didn't help matters, she said.
"If my kids are sick I’d have to call out and they’d give me a hard time about it," Wen said. "It was a tough pill to be like, oh man. I really need to choose which one I need to prioritize.”
She chose to leave her demanding job and stay home with her boys.
What is the Mommy Tax?
It’s the concept that women in the workforce pay a price to have children. Studies show women with children make less money than women without children. They have fewer job opportunities and higher child care costs.
According to online parenting site Motherly, 18% of moms switched jobs or left the workforce last year. 15% of them stayed home because of childcare issues. Another US study shows mothers face an average income loss of $8,000 annually, representing a decrease of about 51% compared to their earnings before having children.
These are all factors of the Mommy Tax.
Single mom Carleen Haylett created EnrichHQ to help working moms pay that tax and balance child care and their jobs.
“Working moms are passed up for promotions. They're not offered choice assignments," she said. "There's this sort of underlying view that they would be less than at their job because they're also balancing family.”
EnrichHQ offers live, interactive classes for kids 5th grade and up. It keeps them busy so a parent can work. Classes include things like financial literacy, how to build a budget, what taxes are and also how to build investments. Companies can provide access to the courses for employees’ kids.
Haylett says up until this point, Corporate America has not been family friendly.
“Executive leaders and HR leaders need to be looking at their benefits offerings specifically around childcare in a larger more holistic way," she said.
She also said parents are taxed with the expense of providing after school or enrichment programs and extracurricular activities. And all the pressure of a working mom is even more intense for single moms.
Wen agrees.
“I count myself one of the lucky ones. I have friends who are single moms, I can't even imagine how they do it.”
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