WHY IT MATTERS: Child Care and Pay Equity

WASHINGTON – THE ISSUE: In much of the United States, families spend more on child care for two kids than on housing. And if you’re a woman, it’s likely you earn less than your male colleagues even though 1 in 4 households with kids relies on mom as the sole or primary breadwinner. That’s according to the latest research that suggests while the U.S. economy has improved, women and their families are still struggling to make the numbers work.

It’s already illegal to pay women less for the same job or deny them a raise because of their sex, and the pay gap has narrowed dramatically in recent decades. Republicans say tougher regulation and new programs would only hurt U.S. businesses and drive up the deficit.

Democrats say it’s still too easy for employers to hide wage disparities because workers rarely perform identical jobs. And with paid leave scarce, women and their families are losing out on wages that could be reinvested back into the economy and keep struggling families off government aid.

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WHERE THEY STAND

Both candidates propose tax relief for child care costs. Donald Trump’s plan provides for a new income tax deduction for child care expenses, other tax benefits and a new rebate or tax credit for low-income families. Clinton says no family should spend more than 10 per cent of its income on child care. She would double the child tax credit for families with children 4 and younger, to $2,000 per child.

Clinton wants 12 weeks of government-paid family leave to care for a new child or seriously ill family member, guaranteeing workers two-thirds of their wages up to a certain amount.

Trump proposes six weeks of leave for mothers, not fathers, with the government paying wages equivalent to unemployment benefits.

On the gender pay gap, Trump has said he doesn’t think it’s an issue. Clinton backs legislation that would force private businesses to disclose gender pay data to the government for analysis; the bill would allow women to seek punitive damages for discrimination.

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WHY IT MATTERS

This issue isn’t going away. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women comprise about 57 per cent of the labour force and many are mothers of young children. More than half of mothers with an infant under age 1 have paid jobs, for example. And that number climbs to 74 per cent among moms with children under age 17.

Yet the bureau says women in 2014 working full time earned 83 cents on average for every dollar a man makes. Why? The Pew Research Center says women are much more likely than men to take time off work or reduce hours to care for family members.

But remove those factors and the pay gap persists. The American Association of University Women found that female engineering majors earned 88 per cent of what male graduates did one year after school. Another study, by the University of California, San Francisco, found that male nurses out-earned female nurses by as much as $5,000 a year, even when taking into account years of experience, location and specialty.

Aggravating wage disparities is the steep cost of child care. Families in 2011 paid on average $143 per week for child care — up from $84 a week in 1985 (in constant 2011 dollars). According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, child care costs for two kids are higher than the median rent payment in every state. And only 12 per cent of private industry workers last year had access to paid family leave, despite strong public support for it and concerns in some states that struggling parents are turning to low-quality, unlicensed daycares because they are cheaper.

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This story is part of AP’s “Why It Matters” series, examining three dozen issues at stake in the presidential election. You can find them at http://apne.ws/2bBG85a

EDITOR’S NOTE _ One in an AP series examining issues at stake in the presidential election and how they affect people