Earlier this week, The Washington Post published an article reporting that mothers with young children are leaving the workforce at the fastest rate since the pandemic.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t about women suddenly deciding they don’t want to work. This is about a system that makes it impossible for too many mothers to work and care for their families at the same time.
Now more data is surfacing that shows the proof in black and white.
What the New Data Says
According to recent analysis and findings reported in the August 1 Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report:
- The share of working mothers ages 25 to 44 with young children has steadily declined, falling almost 3 percentage points over the past six months.
- Since January 2025, roughly 212,000 women over 20 have stopped working or looking for work — with the biggest losses among Black women and those in their late 20s and early 30s.
- By contrast, 44,000 men have entered the workforce since January.
In other words: the setback is specific to mothers — and the storm we’ve been warning about for years is happening right now.
The Hurricane Moms Are Living In
It’s the inflexible workplaces that make it impossible to take your kid to school or pick them up. The endless scramble for summer camps, the sports practice taxi cab, and unexpected doctor appointments.
It’s the lack of paid leave that forces women to rush back to work before their bodies have healed, before they’ve had the chance to properly bond with their babies.
It’s child care that costs more than rent — and in many places, isn’t even available thanks to “child care deserts” and year-long waitlists.
It’s the social media feeds that glamorize a picture-perfect, homegrown, sourdough-from-scratch life while making working moms feel like they’re falling short.
It’s the loss of the “village” so many of us grew up with, as more families live farther away from their parents, or have parents who can’t help because they’re still working well into their 60s and 70s just to keep up with the cost of living.
And it’s the lack of caregiving participation from fathers — sometimes because of outdated gender roles, sometimes because their workplaces and society still punish men for taking leave or prioritizing family.
Put all of that together, and it’s no wonder women are leaving the workforce. Of course they are.
The Motherhood Penalty, Playing Out in Real Time
When a mom steps out of the workforce, it’s often not just a temporary pause. It’s a long-term financial setback. It’s lower lifetime earnings. It’s promotions that never come. It’s a smaller 401(k), less Social Security, and greater financial vulnerability in the years ahead.
Our economy loses too: families lose income and stability, businesses lose experienced talent, and the country loses billions in productivity and growth.
And here’s the kicker: the U.S. is the only advanced economy where women’s workforce participation has gone down over the past two decades.
Other countries have turned this around — not with baby bonuses or political talking points — but with real investments in affordable child care, national paid leave, and workplaces that value flexibility as a business imperative.
It’s Not on Mothers Alone
For far too long, we’ve put the full weight of making families thrive on the shoulders of mothers. And when that burden becomes impossible to carry, they’re the ones forced to step back, step down, or step out entirely.
That’s not just unfair — it’s bad economics.
Here’s what needs to happen:
- Government must build an economic infrastructure that supports families: affordable, accessible child care; paid leave for all; and policies that recognize caregiving as critical work.
- Businesses need to recognize that they can’t afford to push moms and parents out and start to offer benefits that make their workplaces work for parents, from child care support to real workplace flexibility
- Society must respect and value motherhood in all its forms — whether a mom is running a company, running a household, or both.
“I left a c-level, six figure position in 2020 after having our 2nd child. During COVID the options for childcare were limited, so we decided I would take a year off to be home and look for work again. I have still not returned to work because it is impossible to find a flexible position that pays enough to make sense and allows me to be present for my children’s activities and school events. I fear the longer I don’t work, there’s no way I will make the same I was and my experience will be wasted.”
-Moms First community member from California
This Must Stop With Our Generation
We have a chance right now to make sure this cycle ends with us.
That means fighting for a future where a mother can move in and out of the workforce without penalty. Where caregiving is shared. Where the choice to work, to care, or to do both is truly a choice, not a forced trade-off.
Because the economy doesn’t work without moms. And America can’t afford to keep pushing us out.
Your Voice Matters
If you’ve had to leave the workforce, or even considered it, because of the cost of child care, lack of flexibility, or absence of paid leave, we want to hear from you.
Your stories power this movement. They show policymakers, CEOs, and the media what’s really happening in households across America. And they remind every mom who’s struggling that she’s not alone — and she’s not to blame.
Thanks for reading along this week and for refusing to accept a system that pushes mothers out of the workforce.
Together, we can build an economy that works for moms, so no mother has to choose between financial security and her family.
Let’s keep at it,
Reshma Saujani