⁍ Congress is mulling economic Band-Aids in upcoming bailout packages.

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⁍ But the economy would benefit if it took on more ambitious plans, like creating universal childcare.

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⁍ Women’s employment in America had already been going in the opposite direction before the pandemic hit.

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– Joe Biden’s plan to spend $775 billion to create universal childcare in the US is a bold move, but it could be just the start of a much bigger initiative to boost women’s employment, Reuters reports. The labor force participation rate for women at least 16 years old was 56.1% in June, though they make up half of potential workers and their unemployment rate was at 11.7%. For men, it was nearly 67.2% and 10.6%. Women have been hit hard by the pandemic, with a higher jobless rate and lower labor participation rate than men. Congress is mulling economic Band-Aids in upcoming bailout packages. But the economy would benefit if it took on more ambitious plans, like creating universal childcare. More than half of Americans live in areas considered to be childcare deserts, according to a 2018 Center for American Progress study. When it’s available, an average family can spend as much as a third of their income on it. In Nebraska, where childcare is more affordable, more than one in two mothers worked full-time. California had one of the highest concentrations of non-working moms, and its childcare cost ranks in the top five. The coronavirus outbreak exacerbates those problems. In June, the labor force participation rate for women at least 16 years old was 56.1%, though they make up half of potential workers, and their unemployment rate was at 11.7%. For men, the rate was nearly 67.2% and 10.6%. The Boston Consulting Group found that while half of working parents shared childcare burdens equally, another 37% said it fell primarily on a mom’s shoulders.