{"id":26021,"date":"2024-10-09T08:25:03","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T15:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/?p=26021"},"modified":"2024-10-12T20:51:16","modified_gmt":"2024-10-13T03:51:16","slug":"affordable-child-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/affordable-child-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Lack of affordable child care drives women's lifelong inequality: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Affordable
Affordable child care is essential to community development and well-being. A report presented to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors showed the lack of this service, as affordable and accessible child care is urgently needed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Listen to this note:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lack of affordable childcare is one of the main issues driving women's lifelong inequality, according to a <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> presented Tuesday to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, which calls for making child care more affordable and accessible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seven in 10 women had delayed or foregone employment opportunities because of childcare challenges, according to the countywide study, the first of its kind, conducted by the Commission on the Status of Women, which advises the Board on ways to improve the quality of life for all women in San Mateo County.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reducing the cost of quality child care is one of the many recommendations in the report \u201cFinancing the Future,\u201d a call to action to invest in women\u2019s economic health.<\/span><\/p>\n

This analysis recommends addressing the root causes of economic inequality\u2014such as inadequate child care, wage inequality, and the wealth gap\u2014to create a more equitable and prosperous future for all residents.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs the Board\u2019s liaison to the Commission on the Status of Women, I am very proud of the expertise, dedication and hard work that went into what we believe is the first comprehensive study of the status of women in San Mateo County. I am committed to leveraging these findings and recommendations to advance women\u2019s economic equality and thereby improve our entire community,\u201d said San Mateo County Supervisor Noelia Corzo.<\/span><\/p>\n

To gain new insight into women's economic health, the Commission conducted in-person surveys and interviews, met with child care providers and community organizations, gathered input at conferences and other meetings, and reviewed data and reports from a variety of sources.<\/span><\/p>\n

What they found is that despite progress in recent decades, women\u2019s overall \u201ceconomic health\u201d still lags behind that of men. For every dollar of wealth owned by a single man, for example, single women own 82 cents, while single African-American and Latina women own just 9 cents.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHelping women improve their economic status benefits not only women and children, but also men, since everyone can benefit from the same programs,\u201d explained Susan Kokores, Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study found three key factors driving the wealth gap: Low wages, where women, especially single mothers and women of color, are concentrated in low-paying jobs and earn less than men; Caregiver penalty: The burden of family care falls disproportionately on women, resulting in interruptions in their careers that affect their lifelong financial stability.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is also a lack of knowledge and confidence, as women are more risk-averse and less likely to invest and generate wealth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The cost of living in San Mateo County is so high that the minimum wage for a family with two children and one full-time working adult is $61.62 an hour, according to the study. However, the average salary for a 35-year-old woman in San Mateo is $17.31, or $36,000 annually.<\/span><\/p>\n

In light of this, the Commission on the Status of Women's recommendations include creating and investing in a Women and Children's Office as a centralized office to coordinate efforts related to child care, wage equity, and financial education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Likewise, the creation of a \u201cPlan for Child Care in San Mateo County,\u201d where there is a shortage of 2,829 early educators and more than 17,000 child care spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

This includes promoting wage equity, supporting guaranteed basic income programs, expanding financial literacy training and strengthening career pathways, and promoting savings programs like CalSavers and CalKids to all San Mateo County residents, helping them build wealth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe data collected and analyzed by the commission includes all districts and represents the different phases of women\u2019s financial lives: high school students, working women, single mothers, caregivers, stay-at-home mothers, seniors, widows, to name a few,\u201d said Ann Girard, vice chair of the commission.<\/span><\/p>\n

She added that the recommendations provided are tailored to the immediate situation in San Mateo County with the goal of supporting the financial growth and education of all women.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe more than 600 survey participants, both men and women, emphasized the importance of women\u2019s economic empowerment as an important element leading to a stable economy overall,\u201d she stressed.<\/span><\/p>\n

You may be interested in:<\/strong> Consulate General of Mexico in SF presents the XXIV Binational Health Week 2024: \u201cTogether for Prevention\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Escucha esta nota:   La falta de cuidado infantil asequible es uno de los principales problemas que impulsan la desigualdad de por vida de las mujeres, seg\u00fan un informe presentado este martes a la Junta de Supervisores del condado de San Mateo, mismo que urge a que la atenci\u00f3n a la ni\u00f1ez sea m\u00e1s barata […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":26024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-26021","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community","8":"category-cover"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26021"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26054,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26021\/revisions\/26054"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}