Rising child care costs and inconsistent schedules are putting pressure on women in the workforce
“This study makes it clear that the exit of female employees is not due to a lack of desire or commitment,” said McCollum in the report. “They show the fact that too many jobs still fail to respond to caregiving responsibilities and economic pressures. If we want to understand why women leave, we have to look at how work continues to be organized.”
A November 2025 LendingTree study found that in 100 US metropolitan areas, the average monthly cost of childcare is 25.3% less than the cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment. For families with both an infant and a toddler, childcare costs are 31.5% higher than rent..
Federal data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows female labor force participation dropped significantly during the COVID-19 crisis and has since rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels, although research from the US Census Bureau shows ongoing challenges to child care continue to affect labor force participation.
Some employers and policymakers argue that expanding workplace flexibility or government-supported child care programs comes with trade-offs, including higher costs for businesses and taxpayers. Business groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business, have warned that companies are already facing inflation and labor shortages and have warned that the new mandate could increase costs for employers. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve research points to an uncertain labor market and rising labor force participation in recent years — including for women — though economists say those trends are due to a number of factors, including child care costs, wages and broader economic conditions.
In some of the more expensive markets with the widest ranges of care and employment, child care costs an average of $1,996 per month.
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After accounting for inflation, 18% of those women interviewed who left the workforce could not justify their income against the rising cost of care.
“Eighteen percent of them said, ‘When I look at the trade-off between what I have to do from care and pay, and the lack of flexibility that I have, and the amount of pay that I get, I can’t make this calculus work anymore,'” McCollum also told WTOP.
“Women are not ‘taking it out’ – they are leaving because many jobs are not designed to deal with the operational and financial realities of childcare and women’s health,” Catalyst research director Sheila Brassel wrote in the study. “Employers who want to bring women back to the workforce and retain top talent need to take action with concrete and meaningful policies that support women’s full participation.”
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Catalyst data shows that women want to work but are constrained by rigid corporate structures and a lack of flexibility post-COVID.
“Re-engaging and retaining women requires addressing the realities of caregiving, providing schedule flexibility, and ensuring work structures, equal pay, and access to opportunities that allow women to not only return to work, but thrive there,” Brassel said.
Employers, meanwhile, have faced pressure to balance flexible work policies with work demands, and some companies have been scaling back remote work options in recent years.
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