They absorb tears and trauma with a smile. They answer kids’ endless questions and meet shouts of “Look at me!” with loving patience. They are essential, now more than ever.
Wage increases would primarily benefit women and minorities since 95% of child-care workers are women and 36% are Black or Hispanic.
EPI s latest research is based on proposed legislation, the 2021 Raise the Wage Act, which was re-introduced in the Senate by Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., earlier this year. The proposed bill would raise minimum wages from $7.25 to $15 per hour by 2025.
However, the bill currently only has a 1% chance of being enacted, Skopos Labs estimates. Child-care workers deserve to be paid a wage that better reflects the value of their work and allows them to care for their own families, says Julia Wolfe, co-author of the report and state economic analyst for EPI. Low wages for child-care workers reinforce existing racial and gender inequality, since both Black child-care workers and women are particularly likely to see their wages increase with a $15 minimum wage.
An estimated 30% of child care workers leave their jobs each year. But for all the challenges inherent in the job, the reward is also built into the work.
The pandemic highlighted the essential work of California’s child care providers, but the reality is that the state’s supply of available child care, and the number of providers, have been shrinking for years. One reason? Low wages.