What Companies Must Do in 2021 If They Want to Keep Their Talented Working Moms

A Silicon Valley mom explains how COVID corporate perks can help women stay at work.

Moms are dropping out of the workforce like never before. Employers can help.

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The latest job report showed us that 140,000 jobs were lost in December—and all of them were held by women (primarily women of color). Over 800,000 women left the workforce in September of 2020, and one in four women said they were considering leaving their jobs. That’s an astounding number that will undoubtedly impact women in the workforce for decades.

I’ve heard of countless moms who are working late into the night to meet deadlines while caring for their newly mobile babies or energetic tweens during the day. The problem will only worsen for moms in STEAM fields, given that it was hard to keep moms in the workforce long before COVID.

I’m an engineer and product director in Silicon Valley and the co-creator of the family management app S’moresUp. Most importantly, I’m the mom of a teenager, so I know the struggle firsthand: managing the household, directing my teen’s online schooling and keeping up at work. I’ve had huge help from my employer, which is why I think corporate support can go a long way towards keeping women in the workforce.

Corporations have been offering fitness and wellness benefits for employees since the 1980s because keeping employees safe and happy impacts boosts productivity and reduces absenteeism. But childcare benefits have not kept pace. As of 2019, American businesses were losing $12 billion each year in productivity and revenue because parents face insurmountable childcare problems.

Just imagine the damage that a global pandemic is having on an already struggling system. Given that we don’t yet have a national or local childcare safety net for parents, the childcare gap is widening amidst COVID, while so many parents have no option but to keep kids at home while they work. What’s more, a huge gap exists within families, where most of the household management falls on the shoulders of women. Before the pandemic, women were doing most of the 16 billion hours of unpaid work and for every one hour of this work that was done by men, three times that was done by women. Keep in mind that was pre-pandemic. Men are doing more these days, but still less than women—and, there’s far more to be done with everyone at home.

Many technology companies are leading the charge to create “family wellness” benefits that specifically help parents and particularly moms. For example, Google canceled performance reviews, Bank of America paid for childcare through December, Dell helped create learning pods, and others are creating special “Parenting” Slack support channels, and even having employees help kids by tutoring them. There is no doubt that these perks will continue and even expand to include thousands of companies in many industries; because right now, there are struggling moms in every workforce. Things are truly dire right now for many of us—and these perks are helping us stay in our jobs.

So, why do these COVID perks work so well?

They’re Easy to Roll Out

Companies already offer health challenges like “10,000 steps,” free Fitbits and weight management programs, or mental health benefits like yoga and meditation apps or in-office programs that manage stress. "Family wellness” benefits can be added seamlessly into this mix of corporate perks. Employees already know what to expect and how to sign up and participate.

Family Health is Mental Health

The mental and physical health of moms is truly impacted by what happens in the household. The problems that COVID is causing within families—lack of childcare, financial strain, isolation, etc.—is likely impacting homebound moms the most right now. Helping families get through COVID is critical if companies want to help their working moms—and help them remain in the workplace.

New Technology Makes it Easy

Companies can add benefits that are anchored in technology and can be rolled out digitally. For example, a company might partner with Care Academy, a startup that helps support family caregivers, or help parents find childcare by helping pay for Care.com, or provide subscriptions to Khan Academy and Skooli for supplemental learning and virtual tutoring. Family management tools can help parents manage the household and the kids’ schedules, while integrating with homeschooling software to make online schooling easier. Many of these digital options are inexpensive to purchase per employee; the short-term and long-term benefits of happy, supported employees far outweigh the dollar cost.

Many working moms feel like we’re underwater with no support. The fallout that is already happening—women dropping out of the workforce like never before—could have dark implications for the future of women in the workplace. It could take us years to fully catch up. (Not to mention, we were behind to begin with.) Companies that are rolling out expanded COVID “corporate perks” are going a long way in helping moms stay afloat and right the ship.

Priya Rajendran is a Silicon Valley technologist and CEO of S’moresUp.