Should We Pay Salaries To Moms Forced Out of the Workforce During the Pandemic?

I am an unpiad family caregiver for my 91 year old dad with dementia. I think this is excellent. I don't have kids but my dad is in a child-like state due to his dementia. Family caregivers like me could use extra money to supplement income or to get paid if they do not rfeceive income.

See we are not a "traditional " family unit where mom and dad work or mom stays home and dad works. In our family my husband/partner stays home. We have twins and at $4000 a month for childcare we made the decision for him to stay home. Though they would have been in full time preK this year that obviously changed with the pandemic. He would have at least gotten a part time gig but with remote and my job location uncertain that was not an option. What about the other dads that had to make this choice? I am all about equality for women but this is not taking into account the dads that also had to put house and home on the line to make things work.

The Marshall Plan for Moms sounds great on the surface. Certainly mothers deserve every penny. However, should our government, in essence our taxpayers, have to pay for yet another thing during this pandemic? I think not. Our economy is overburdened. Many are on unemployment and food assistance, as it should be. Stimulus checks were hard enough to get passed. Managing our vaccine program across the nation was not free. Nothing is free. However, just as workers receive earned income credit for each child, perhaps moms who stay at home out of necessity during this time should also come under these guidelines.

I may be the odd one out, but this is not the solution.  There are many more options that needed to be addressed before something like this.  Equal pay, better child care, family leave, etc. are things that should be looked in to for all. 

This one of the most ridiculous, absurd things I have ever read. $2400 a month because you made the choice to be a parent? Where does this money come from? Taxes that come out of the working peoples' paychecks? This offers NO incentive whatsoever for people to actually get back to work, which is what we ACTUALLY need to improve the economy. Sorry, not a fan. No offense to moms because I know how hard it is, but you shouldn't get monetarily rewarded simply by staying home with your kids. That's insane.

Sounds like a great idea because some mothers are busy for 20 hours.  When a child is sleeping, a mom's ears are still working because she has to listen for her child crying. I am my child's chef, nanny, teacher, stylist, and employee(;-) As a mom, I do not get 8 hours sleep, and I cannot enjoy a spa bath.  I do not mind taking care of my child because my child is a gift from God, my child is my pride and hot.

This is a good idea.  A lot of parents are handling their children's educations right now in addition to child care duties.  Another upcoming concern is that we're sliding into a baby bust.  Nobody wants to bring children into an uncertain world, but a base pay for stay at home parents would offset the uncertainty to some degree.

I think it would help some. Since I know mothers have taken a lot of the brunt.

It might be solution for some, but we need a solution for all. We need pay equity. We need paid parental leave. We need quality childcare. We need partners who are true partners who share the load. Some are policy solutions and some are social solutions. 

I am not sure about this legislation specifically as this is the first I've heard of it, but I do agree that the wider impact of the pandemic on working moms -- basically erasing several years' worth of progress -- is discouraging. I also think, as some others have said, that it's a good step in a conversation about the way this country is not set up to support people caring for their families, resume gaps, etc. One of the factors in my leaving a job -- pre-pandemic -- was the lack of summer chiildcare/activity options for a just-turned-13-year-old (there is a black hole in options for this 13/14/15-year-old age range). It's not just moms of little kids that are impacted by the way our society is currently set up.

Let's start with equal pay for women and helping people to have high quality, accessible and affordable child care.  We need a plan that recognizes all of the abilities that we have as women, while embracing a plan that encourages both parents to participate fully in caring for children and the home.  We need a plan that encourages, not discourages, 2-parent families!

There are so many ways Moms need to be supported in the workplace.  From equal pay and opportunities to assistance when they are forced to leave their jobs due to circumstances such as the pandemic.  The Marshall Plans for Mom is a step in the right direction.  

This is a topic that hits close to home. I had my first child right before lockdown last year. When my maternity leave ended, I was told that I didn't have a job to return to. Thankfully, I was able to find another job (an even better one I might add) quickly, but it truly breaks my heart thinking about all of the women and moms that weren't as lucky as me in finding a new job. All of that said I'd like to echo what emorgan said - this conversation needs to continue and get LOUDER. "I would like to see the conversation about women's unpaid work at home focus on how to achieve equality with men in the long term, so that the unpaid labor is not falling to women by default. How do we fix that?" 

The Marshall Plan for Women is bringing up important issues. But I do wish they would focus on promoting equality in the home versus paying moms. As much as women deserve to be paid for all of the work that they do, it just doesn't feel realistic that it would happen. After all, the latest Covid relief bill barely even passed. 

After reading StephC's comment, it brought something else to mind. I went through four interviews for one of the jobs I applied to, after graduating from business school. For each interview, I stepped up my level of preparation, analyzing the company's customers, business model, and principles. I was ready to answer the tough questions and prove myself as a business leader. In the final interview, they asked me when I planned to have children.