1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,480 Speaker 1: I've spent the last few weeks listening to a lot 2 00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 1: of moms, moms from all over the world with kids 3 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:11,640 Speaker 1: of all ages who work in all sorts of different 4 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: jobs and industries. Each was cobbled together their own system 5 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:20,120 Speaker 1: to make their lives, their kids, their relationships, their jobs work. 6 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: So there's a doctor's appointment, preschool function, etcetera. I will 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: move meetings around in order to accommodate those. I decided 8 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:32,840 Speaker 1: to work part time now so that I could spend 9 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: more time with the kids. I work from home, so 10 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: my family responsibilities and never really stop. I have been 11 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: able to balance my workload by scheduling things like confidence calls, trainings, 12 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: or presentations around my daughter's naptimes to have a lot 13 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 1: of flexibility to handle work responsibilities. Um but fortunately my 14 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: husband also works evenings and weekends, so he has daytimes 15 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: to kind of pick up after school and do doctor's 16 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 1: appointments and dentists visits and things of that nature. I 17 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: actually really left my full time job to start my 18 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: own business so I could create more flexibility with my kids. 19 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: So the way we made it work well. First of all, 20 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: we moved to London because the firm asked me to 21 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: take out a business, so my wife quit her job, 22 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 1: so we actually made it work, basically replicating a straight 23 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: couple's life. These women told me all the ways they 24 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: were coping with the demands of work and parenting, but 25 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: the more they talked, the more you could hear that 26 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: despite all of these strategies, it's still not really working. 27 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: I just want to add the sheer exhaustion that both 28 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,120 Speaker 1: of us feel, and I think this isn't unique to 29 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: being a mom, and I think my husband also feel 30 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 1: this feels this way at the end of the day, 31 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: You've spent all day working and then you come home 32 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: and you have to run around after a toddler. I 33 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: wish I was able to do my entire job at 34 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: work and then come home and be a parent, but 35 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: actually I work every night. I think that's what surprised 36 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: me the most, that I need to be really present 37 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: with my kids, but that the work doesn't stop. And 38 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: find myself incredibly emotionally drained just from the work that 39 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: I do, and then to have to come home and 40 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 1: not really be able to recharge in the same way 41 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:17,919 Speaker 1: is a challenge. Just to put it that way, it's 42 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: a challenge. You don't really think about all that you 43 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: do as a mom because you have this surviving mentality 44 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:27,920 Speaker 1: of I gotta do what I gotta do and it 45 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: just has to be done. Everything we've been hearing from 46 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: parents is backed up by data. There was this Pew 47 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: survey that came out a few years ago that gave 48 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: a portrait of the modern American family. In more households 49 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 1: than ever, both parents work, a huge change from the 50 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: way families looked less than half a century ago. That's 51 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: been good economically for families. Two income families make more 52 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: than twice as much as single income ones. But in 53 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: those two income households, both moms and dad's said they 54 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: feel stressed, hired, and like they lack quality time with 55 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: their children, friends, and partners. Right now, we're asking people 56 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: in two income to parent households to do three jobs, 57 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: one of which does not pay. In single parents, they're 58 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: doing two jobs for the price of one. The stress 59 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 1: of that is wearing on everyone. But even if you 60 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: don't have kids, this is your problem too. For those 61 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: who want to keep working at the same level, getting 62 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: pregnant and having a child often deals them an involuntary setback. 63 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: We are failing mama's and daddy's all across this country, 64 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: and we are failing our kids as will. You should 65 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: never say I'm ready to the baby. Am I ready 66 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: to lose my job? There was no single industry where 67 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 1: women aren't punished for appropriating. When men have children, they 68 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: experience a pay bump. When women have children, the opposite happens. 69 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: Bloomberg cruns to the numbers and found that Wall Street 70 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: is the worst when it comes to gender pay gaps. 71 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: Gender is no longer the factor creating the greatest wage 72 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: discrepancy in this country. Motherhood is welcome to the paycheck. 73 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:23,799 Speaker 1: I'm Rebecca Greenfield when I say the current system isn't working. 74 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: It's not just the emotional and mental toll it's taking 75 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: on people with kids. It's a bad deal for all 76 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: of us. We started the series talking about the gender 77 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,920 Speaker 1: pay gap and why women on average in the US 78 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: make around less than men. We know motherhood is one 79 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:46,920 Speaker 1: of the biggest contributing factors. Women with kids aren't able 80 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: to live the lives they want and make as much 81 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 1: money as they could be making. And we know that 82 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: dads are also penalized in their careers when they try 83 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: to help out at home. But the gender pay gap 84 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:02,600 Speaker 1: and the motherhood penalty aren't just problems for women or 85 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: even parents. Right now, the rest of us we're benefiting 86 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: from women taking on the unpaid work of raising kids. 87 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: That may seem like a great deal, but as we've 88 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 1: explained this season, holding women back from fully participating in 89 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:22,279 Speaker 1: the workforce hurts the economy. Making it financially untenable to 90 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: have kids also hurts the economy, and a weekend economy 91 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: is everybody's problem. Once we see this as everyone's problem, 92 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:35,919 Speaker 1: it becomes easier to see that everyone is responsible for 93 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 1: the solutions, and societies can make huge changes when they 94 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,159 Speaker 1: commit to supporting the needs of working women. How do 95 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: I know that, because there was one time in the 96 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:52,159 Speaker 1: history of the United States when that happened. Everyone chipped 97 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:54,840 Speaker 1: in to make the lives of working women easier, and 98 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: it was better not just for these women, but for 99 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: their children and the economy. Me During World War Two, 100 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,360 Speaker 1: women went to work in greater numbers than ever before 101 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: because the country needed them to. That mean figuring out 102 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:11,360 Speaker 1: what to do with their children while they spent their 103 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: days working. Susan Burfield looks at the brief moment when 104 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: the US government provided high qualities, subsidized childcare for working 105 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: women of Richmond ship Builders were women seven workers with 106 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 1: small children, inspired the founding of thirty five nursery school 107 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: units and ten extended day care centers, which mothered over 108 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,840 Speaker 1: fourteen hundred youngsters at a time. World War two was 109 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:41,800 Speaker 1: a national emergency. Because of that, a lot of previously 110 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: unthinkable things became necessary. Women were recruited to work in 111 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 1: the very busy, very understaffed factories and shipyards. Rosie the 112 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:54,799 Speaker 1: Riveter became a cultural icon, but what about Rosie's kids. 113 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: During the whole course of the war, the women start 114 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,839 Speaker 1: to play more and more of a role in actual production, 115 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: and then we get to the point where, well, what 116 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: does it take for women to come into the into 117 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 1: the workforce? One of these conditions, the last element of 118 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: all this is childcare. Lincoln Cushing is the archivist at 119 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: Kaiser Permanente, a company that during the war was building 120 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: ships for the Merchant Marines using this new influx of 121 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: women workers. When millions of women rushed into the workforce, 122 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: many moved to the coast for jobs, and that meant 123 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 1: they didn't have family to look after their kids. They 124 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 1: had to scramble to come up with solutions. Newspapers published 125 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: shocking accounts of mothers leaving their kids in their cars, 126 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: near factories or outside schools until their shifts were over. 127 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 1: Some movie theaters were filled with children waiting for their moms. 128 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: It was obvious that something had to be done to 129 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:52,679 Speaker 1: care for all these children, So, with some government funding, 130 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 1: Kaiser began to build daycare centers right there in the shipyards. 131 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 1: What persuaded companies and the government to solve the problem 132 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: wasn't just the tales of neglected kids. The widespread lack 133 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 1: of childcare was affecting their bottom line. Women with kids 134 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: often had to miss shifts, and that meant factories could 135 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: miss type production deadlines. America was at war and every 136 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 1: worker needed to be on duty. Still, having a company 137 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 1: watch over your kids and the government pay for it 138 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: wasn't popular At first. This was a new thing. The 139 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: idea that the government would be involved in childcare was 140 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: a was a pretty radical concept, and it was not 141 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:36,840 Speaker 1: It was not an easy sell. There was a lot 142 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:40,559 Speaker 1: of reason to believe that having industry or government take 143 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: care of your kid was a problematic situation. Up to then, 144 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:51,080 Speaker 1: Americans generally thought of day care's custodial welfare, sometimes cruel. 145 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,199 Speaker 1: It was used only by the poor and those who 146 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: didn't have family around. Most people still believed that children 147 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: should be cared for by a mother who stayed home 148 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: full time in order for them to grow up safe, happy, 149 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:09,080 Speaker 1: and well adjusted. The war effort intensified, production ramped up, 150 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,280 Speaker 1: and eventually the need for women to show up to 151 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: work on schedule became more and more obvious. Public opposition 152 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:20,200 Speaker 1: to the child care centers began to fade. Having these 153 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:24,320 Speaker 1: facilities was seen as a patriotic act, and that that 154 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:26,680 Speaker 1: undercut a lot of the resistance to it as well. 155 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 1: Famous architects designed the centers for Kaiser in Oregon and 156 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 1: California right near the shipyards. Teachers ran them, nurses oversaw 157 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:40,600 Speaker 1: medical clinics in the centers. The shipyards operated seven days 158 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,839 Speaker 1: a week around the clock, so the centers did too. 159 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:48,240 Speaker 1: The day started with a health inspection. There's first aid 160 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 1: facilities there, so if your kid is sick, your kid 161 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 1: is taking care of your kid. Kids inoculations, They had 162 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: art classes. They had people coming in to teach all 163 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:03,719 Speaker 1: sorts of wonderful things. There were outdoor recreational activities. They 164 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 1: had nutritionists, on staff so that your child was getting 165 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: a well balanced meal. The children ate a baked apple, 166 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: scrambled eggs, holy toasted milk for breakfast. They got a 167 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 1: daily dose of cod liver oil. And when it was 168 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: time to go home, there was even more help for mothers. 169 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: For a small fee, a mother would be able to 170 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:25,520 Speaker 1: pick up a meal at the end of her shift 171 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:28,120 Speaker 1: and picking up her child so that you don't have 172 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:30,480 Speaker 1: to just pick up your kid, go home and make dinner. 173 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: And it was all affordable for women. They were earning 174 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,600 Speaker 1: union wages and the centers were subsidized by the government. 175 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:41,560 Speaker 1: Mothers paid about fifty cents a day, the equivalent of 176 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: seven dollars today. The government ran similar child care centers 177 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:49,080 Speaker 1: for other mothers involved in the war effort that weren't 178 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:53,080 Speaker 1: connected to specific companies as the Kaiser centers were. What 179 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:57,040 Speaker 1: made these centers possible, and the government subsidized ones like 180 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,679 Speaker 1: Kaiser's was a piece of legislation that passed to nineteen 181 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:05,760 Speaker 1: forty called the Landom Act. The initial intent of this 182 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: piece of legislation actually was not to provide or or 183 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 1: fund childcare programs. It was initially intended to fund the 184 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:21,640 Speaker 1: construction and maintenance of big infrastructure projects that were necessary 185 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 1: to prepare the nation to go to war. That's Chris Herbst. 186 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: He's an associate professor at Arizona State University and an 187 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:34,320 Speaker 1: expert on childcare. The inclusion of money for childcare in 188 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:38,680 Speaker 1: the Landom Act has been called an inspired afterthought because 189 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: the money was essentially snuck in, there was no congressional debate, 190 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 1: and the program could get going quickly. It was the 191 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,040 Speaker 1: first time in the nation's history that public money was 192 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,640 Speaker 1: spent on daycare for kids who weren't poor. It wasn't universal, 193 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 1: and it didn't meet all the demand, but at the 194 00:11:56,080 --> 00:12:00,240 Speaker 1: peak in July, there were more than three thousands nurse 195 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:03,679 Speaker 1: serving a hundred and thirty kids in communities involved in 196 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: the war effort. The total cost was about hundred million dollars, 197 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 1: the equivalent of a billion dollars today. The centers provided 198 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:14,560 Speaker 1: one teacher for every ten kids, and they adjusted their 199 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:18,559 Speaker 1: schedules and services depending on the community. This coincided with 200 00:12:18,679 --> 00:12:22,839 Speaker 1: women's shifts within factories. If you were a school aged child, 201 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:27,240 Speaker 1: you generally attended these childcare programs for a fewer hours, 202 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 1: usually before school and after school. Uh these school aged 203 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 1: children received help with homework with music lessons. The primary 204 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 1: takeaway is that these programs were really flexible. They were 205 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:44,680 Speaker 1: implemented in service of women's employment. But what about that 206 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,280 Speaker 1: idea lots of people had that daycare was bad for children, 207 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: that it would damage the mother child relationship and harm kids. 208 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 1: Researchers interviewed mothers and looked at the center's records. Teachers 209 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:01,080 Speaker 1: observed that of the kids made notice both social progress. 210 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: Every single one of the five mothers interviewed by the 211 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 1: researchers reported that their kids enjoyed nursery school. Many said 212 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: they became better mothers they were more patient at home. One, 213 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:17,079 Speaker 1: a welder named Wilma Thatcher, called the center the best 214 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: thing that could happen for working mothers. Other research showed 215 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:25,679 Speaker 1: that childcare helped kids become social beings and it reduced friction, nagging, 216 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:29,280 Speaker 1: and quarreling between mothers and kids at home. Chris calls 217 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,120 Speaker 1: them the high water mark of childcare in the US, 218 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:38,480 Speaker 1: but they wouldn't last. The war ended, factories slowed production 219 00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:41,599 Speaker 1: for the military and began to prepare for the soldiers 220 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:44,840 Speaker 1: to return. The government announced it would cut the funding 221 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:48,480 Speaker 1: for the Landam Act centers Kaiser closed its own child 222 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 1: service centers, women protested. Eleanor Roosevelt wanted the centers to 223 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:58,320 Speaker 1: remain open. Here's an excerpt from her syndicated column My Day. 224 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,559 Speaker 1: The closing of child care centers throughout the country certainly 225 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:05,080 Speaker 1: is bringing to light the fact that these centers were 226 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: a real need. Many thought they were purely a war 227 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:11,720 Speaker 1: emergency measure. A few of us had an inkling that 228 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: perhaps they were in need, which was constantly with us, 229 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 1: but one that we had neglected to face in the past. 230 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,800 Speaker 1: Now mothers have had the opportunity of going to work 231 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:24,119 Speaker 1: and leaving their children in a center where they felt secure. 232 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,640 Speaker 1: They knew that the children would be properly fed, given 233 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: supervised recreation and occupation, and medical care if necessary. They 234 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 1: were able to work better, and they were less exhausted physically. 235 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 1: But the men were coming back. The experiment was over. 236 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,880 Speaker 1: The daycares existed for just a couple of years, but 237 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 1: they radically changed the way Americans thought about childcare. Mothers 238 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 1: could see and research confirmed that the kids thrived in 239 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:55,720 Speaker 1: the group setting. The educational activities and healthcare gave them 240 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:59,200 Speaker 1: a head start. The services, the meals, the mending, the 241 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: infirmary all reduced working women's stress. All of this helped 242 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,760 Speaker 1: change the perception that childcare was bad for kids, and 243 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,000 Speaker 1: Chris found that women whose kids were in the Landamax 244 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 1: centers tended to remain in the workforce after the war. 245 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:18,640 Speaker 1: They probably became uh sort of fairly firmly entrenched in 246 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 1: the labor force uh. And so when the war ended 247 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:28,200 Speaker 1: and men came home, they continued to to enjoy employments, 248 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:33,720 Speaker 1: seek the benefits from employment, and likely worked throughout the 249 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: rest of their lives. Women continued working, but now they 250 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 1: had to manage without the subsidized childcare, without the medical 251 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: attention for the kids, and without the hot meals. The 252 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 1: women were left on their own to find affordable ways 253 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,240 Speaker 1: to care for their kids while they went to work, 254 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: and it left women wondering if they would ever get 255 00:15:55,560 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 1: that much help again. High quality, government subsidized childcare didn't last, 256 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 1: but its legacy did. Over the next two decades, more 257 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: women entered the workforce and more women sent their kids 258 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:21,880 Speaker 1: to daycare. Public attitude started to shift. It was no 259 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,400 Speaker 1: longer considered fringe or negligent for mothers to leave their 260 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 1: kids with someone else. By seventy almost of kids between 261 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:33,520 Speaker 1: the ages of three and five were in some sort 262 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: of daycare or preschool program. By then, the conversation about 263 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: childcare was very different than it was before the war. 264 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 1: It wasn't if women should go to work and leave 265 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 1: their kids, It was what to do about the needs 266 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:51,960 Speaker 1: of working parents. In one Congress passed a bipartisan bill 267 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,400 Speaker 1: that would have created a national system of federally funded 268 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: childcare centers. Tuition would be subsidized depending on a family's income. 269 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:02,880 Speaker 1: The cost was about two billion dollars, which would be 270 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:06,359 Speaker 1: around twelve point six billion dollars today. Congress sent the 271 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:10,439 Speaker 1: bill to President Richard Nixon. Here's Chris herpst again. So 272 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:14,480 Speaker 1: President Nixon had essentially on his desk a bill that 273 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:20,240 Speaker 1: would have provided universal, publicly provided childcare. He was reportedly 274 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:24,679 Speaker 1: in favor of this bill was set to sign it, 275 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:29,600 Speaker 1: but was ultimately dissuaded by some members of his senior staff. 276 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:34,880 Speaker 1: The reason the same ideas that had initially made daycare unpopular, 277 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:37,879 Speaker 1: that was bad for children and bad for mothers to 278 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: have the government helped them raise their kids, even though 279 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:45,320 Speaker 1: the research had found otherwise. Pat Buchanan, the arch conservative, 280 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: was advising Nixon in the White House. Philish Laughlely was 281 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,960 Speaker 1: railing against feminism on TV. They want this to be 282 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:55,359 Speaker 1: a right of all women, of all mothers to park 283 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: their children in a daycare center at the taxpayers expense, 284 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 1: So the women and be out fulfilling themselves somewhere. And 285 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 1: this flows from their their rationale, their dogma that is 286 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 1: so unfair that that mothers are expected to take care 287 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:13,840 Speaker 1: of their babies. The Republican right argued that child raising 288 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:17,919 Speaker 1: should be the sole prerogative and responsibility of families, or, 289 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:22,680 Speaker 1: as Shlapley would say, mothers. When Nixon vetoed the legislation, 290 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 1: he said that it would weaken families. This was also 291 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:30,400 Speaker 1: during the Cold War, when state sponsored programs raised alarms 292 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: about America descending into communism. Nixon said that communal approaches 293 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:40,879 Speaker 1: to child rearing went against the family centered approach. It 294 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:44,400 Speaker 1: was the closest we'd gotten to government subsidized childcare since 295 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 1: the land Am Act, and after this veto it was dead. 296 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,920 Speaker 1: That didn't mean women stopped working or seeking out help 297 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,639 Speaker 1: from others for child care. Over the next forty years, 298 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:58,560 Speaker 1: even more women went to work and even more people 299 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:01,879 Speaker 1: sent their kids to daycare. Now almost seven percent of 300 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,679 Speaker 1: kids between the ages of three and five are enrolled 301 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:08,439 Speaker 1: in a preschool or daycare program, and that's where we 302 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 1: are today. Of women with kids work, but we're still 303 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:16,639 Speaker 1: telling women that it's their job and their job alone 304 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:19,560 Speaker 1: to figure all of this out, that this is all 305 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 1: on their shoulders, so they're forced to make impossible choices 306 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 1: about work and family. Many of them tell us it's 307 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,480 Speaker 1: not working, and we see that in the data. That's 308 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:34,520 Speaker 1: the gender pay gap. Women's earnings suffer when they have kids. 309 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 1: But things don't have to be this way. It's not 310 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 1: that subsidized childcare is the be all and all solution 311 00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:44,879 Speaker 1: for working parents or for closing the pay gap. But 312 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:47,240 Speaker 1: I think a lot of people on the left and 313 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:51,080 Speaker 1: the right agree there's a problem here. On the right, 314 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 1: some are proposing tax credits for parents who stay home. 315 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:59,120 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Warren is trying to resurrect subsidized childcare, and politicians 316 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:01,639 Speaker 1: on the left and right have proposed new ways of 317 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:05,359 Speaker 1: paying for parental leave. I don't know exactly what the 318 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:09,000 Speaker 1: answer is, but when we take the needs of working 319 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,359 Speaker 1: women seriously, like we did back in World War Two, 320 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: we see progress. And until we stop viewing this as 321 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:21,439 Speaker 1: a woman's problem. Women will keep internalizing that they're on 322 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:25,000 Speaker 1: their own, and then they blame themselves when they inevitably 323 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:28,919 Speaker 1: can't meet the unrealistic standards we've put on them. We 324 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,359 Speaker 1: heard that from so many of the women we spoke to. 325 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:35,880 Speaker 1: But then it also feels like this weight, It feels 326 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,120 Speaker 1: like this terrible way to that I feel horribly guilty 327 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:42,640 Speaker 1: that I leave her. I feel like I can't be 328 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: doing my best at both at the same point in time, 329 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,200 Speaker 1: and that weighs on me. The main thing is just 330 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:53,880 Speaker 1: feeling like I am not doing a good job at 331 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:58,920 Speaker 1: either thing, like that I am failing simultaneously both the 332 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,720 Speaker 1: gift and the coast. For me, honestly, would be the balance. 333 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:07,520 Speaker 1: I love my children, obviously, and I also love my career. 334 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,840 Speaker 1: Um So, while I am very appreciative of the hours 335 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 1: that I have, which are very very flexible, you know, 336 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,199 Speaker 1: sometimes I am saying when I have to miss, you know, 337 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 1: certain events during the day, I find that I have 338 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:27,600 Speaker 1: this guilt that I'm not yet really making enough money 339 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:32,200 Speaker 1: to justify the cost of childcare. And so you think 340 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 1: the logical solution would be, well, then why don't you 341 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:38,920 Speaker 1: stay home with the kids and not pay for childcare. 342 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:41,479 Speaker 1: But at the same time, I don't want to do that. 343 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,200 Speaker 1: I can't do that. I don't have the patience. I've 344 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: tried on at different times or on different days to 345 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 1: do part time daycare, and I actually find myself unable 346 00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:57,439 Speaker 1: to spend ten hours alone, twelve hours alone with the 347 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:00,719 Speaker 1: kids by myself on any given day. It's just a 348 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:05,520 Speaker 1: lot of work and it's exhausting. One word keeps coming 349 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 1: up in these women's stories. Guilt. They feel guilty when 350 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:11,840 Speaker 1: they have to leave their kids to go to work. 351 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:14,800 Speaker 1: They feel guilty when they're not doing enough at work. 352 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:19,080 Speaker 1: These women are doing so much and yet they still 353 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 1: feel inadequate. Part of it is that they have expectations 354 00:22:24,359 --> 00:22:27,600 Speaker 1: that are self imposed, meaning they feel like they have 355 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 1: to be perfect at work, and they have to be 356 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:31,639 Speaker 1: perfect as a parent, and they have to be perfect 357 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: as a partner, and it's just impossible. That was Laurie Gottlieb. 358 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,320 Speaker 1: She's a therapist, a calumnist for The Atlantic, where she's 359 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:42,960 Speaker 1: written about parenting extensively, and the author of Maybe You 360 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 1: Should Talk To Someone. Asked her about how women can 361 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,639 Speaker 1: manage these feelings, and she says that parents can start 362 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,879 Speaker 1: to feel better as soon as they realize it's impossible 363 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:56,760 Speaker 1: to do it all. People aren't talking enough about what 364 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:58,879 Speaker 1: what you really have to do to make all of 365 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: those pieces of the puzzle fit together, and they're not 366 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 1: always going to fit perfectly, and they're going to be 367 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: times when you have to let something go at home 368 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:10,200 Speaker 1: or you have to let something go at work, and 369 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:12,679 Speaker 1: it's not like you can do all of them at once. 370 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:14,479 Speaker 1: And I think if you if you go in with 371 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:18,800 Speaker 1: that orientation, you're gonna feel much better about the situation. 372 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 1: Laurie says, it's not just that people need to realize 373 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 1: that they're gonna miss things at work and at home. 374 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:29,159 Speaker 1: The research shows that kids do best with what Laurie 375 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: calls the good enough parent. Most kids want the good 376 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: enough mother, the helicopter mother, the mother who's always there 377 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,400 Speaker 1: that's bad for your kids, and so is the neglectful mother. 378 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:42,199 Speaker 1: But most of us are the good enough mother. And 379 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:44,320 Speaker 1: I think that you can also be the good enough worker, 380 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:48,080 Speaker 1: which means that you do your job really well. But 381 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:51,200 Speaker 1: they're going to be times when you know something gets 382 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:53,880 Speaker 1: in the way, and you can be the good enough 383 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 1: partner as well. It all comes back to women feeling 384 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 1: like it's their obligation to do everything on their own. 385 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,359 Speaker 1: They're trying to do everything at a level that you 386 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,920 Speaker 1: can't do all of those things at once. At that level, 387 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:09,880 Speaker 1: I think you have to be clear about what your 388 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:13,320 Speaker 1: needs are, clear about what your time constraints are, and 389 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,760 Speaker 1: ask for help. So many of us are so afraid 390 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: to ask for help because we think that it implies 391 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:23,160 Speaker 1: that we're not competent, or we're weak, or something's wrong 392 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,399 Speaker 1: with us. We all need help. At the beginning of 393 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 1: this season, I talked about my own mixed feelings about 394 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:33,600 Speaker 1: whether to have kids or not. After months of digging 395 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 1: into the way motherhood affects careers and hearing from lots 396 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: of working parents and other people who don't have or 397 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:45,639 Speaker 1: want kids, I'm no less ambivalent. One thing I am 398 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: certain about is what it would take for me to 399 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:52,959 Speaker 1: feel satisfied as a parent and in my career. Lots 400 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,120 Speaker 1: of help and I wanted to be okay to admit 401 00:24:56,200 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 1: that and also demand it, to demand it from institutions, companies, 402 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: and our government because they're getting something out of it too. 403 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,920 Speaker 1: This is the last episode of season two of The Paycheck. 404 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:19,119 Speaker 1: If any of the stories resonated with you, or if 405 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:21,320 Speaker 1: you have a story of your own, we'd love to 406 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:23,560 Speaker 1: hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at two on 407 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:28,160 Speaker 1: to six seven zero one six and thank you for listening. 408 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:30,359 Speaker 1: If you like the show, please head on over to 409 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:33,880 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to rate, review, and 410 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 1: subscribe to get updates in your feed. Hey, I'm Janet Paskin, 411 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:41,920 Speaker 1: an editor on the Paycheck. This was the final episode 412 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:44,320 Speaker 1: of the season, but next week we'll be back with 413 00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:48,000 Speaker 1: an encore, a special show taped at the Bloomberg Equality 414 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:51,520 Speaker 1: Summit in London, where Rebecca is talking women's soccer, the 415 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:54,800 Speaker 1: World Cup and whether we'll ever see anything close to 416 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:58,760 Speaker 1: pay parity for female athletes. Watch your feeds, it's gonna 417 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 1: be great. This show was hosted and reported by me 418 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:07,119 Speaker 1: Rebecca Greenfield and reported by Susan Burfield. This episode was 419 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:11,359 Speaker 1: edited by franchisea Levi and produced by Samantha Gadzick. We 420 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:15,320 Speaker 1: also had production help from Liz Smith, Jillian Goodman, Janet Haskin, 421 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:20,520 Speaker 1: and Laura Carlson. Special thanks to Magnus Hendrickson Toefer for has, 422 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:26,080 Speaker 1: Brian Bremner, Laura Zelango, Sharon Chen, Brendan Scott, and our 423 00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:29,600 Speaker 1: calleaus in Singapore and Hong Kong. Our original music is 424 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:33,159 Speaker 1: by Leo Sidrin. Catherine Virginia did the illustrations on our 425 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,760 Speaker 1: show page, which you can find at bloomberg dot com. 426 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 1: Slash the paycheck, and thanks to all the women and 427 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:41,560 Speaker 1: men who spoke to us for this episode and the 428 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:46,119 Speaker 1: entire series. Francesca Levi is Bloomberg's head of Podcasts