Mia Isbell has taken a cut in pay this summer that amounts to $2,000 per month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When her three school-age kids are on summer break, Isbell, a stylist and cosmetology teacher in Pittsburgh, Pa., is only able to work part time \u2014 three days a week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. With fewer hours and fewer tips from customers, her take-home pay has taken a big hit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI try not to think about it,\u201d Isbell said. The drop in pay nearly led to her being evicted from her apartment last month. After she fell behind on rent, the management company sent her a 15-day eviction notice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery summer has really been a struggle, honestly,\u201d she said. \u201cEvery time the kids get out of school and summer comes, I\u2019m always left trying to figure out what summer is going to look like.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Working parents like Isbell say summer is a challenging time. Many have to plan activities and child-care options, come up with new work-and-family schedules and budget for extra expenses. And like Isbell, many are juggling all of this on a reduced income, as they have to take time out to take care of their children.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n \u201c<\/span>\u2018Every summer has really been a struggle.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\n <\/p>\n Women, who are most often the primary caregiver in a household, tend to be the ones who work fewer hours in summer when schools are out. For single mothers like Isbell, that further contributes to the annual financial strain of summer, which is particularly bad timing as they have to face back-to-school season expenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n Women\u2019s responsibility for summer child care is a major factor contributing to the gender pay gap, researchers say. A recent paper distributed this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research notes that from 1989 to 2019, women\u2019s weekly earnings declined by 3.3% over the summer months \u2014 five times the decline in men\u2019s wages over the same period.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the summertime, parents have to find care for six additional hours every weekday, experts said. In a 2019 survey by the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank, 57% of surveyed families said that a lack of child care meant that at least one parent planned to make a job change that would result in reduced income.<\/p>\n Working mothers who have younger school-age children \u2014 those aged 6 to 12 \u2014 are affected the most by the summer months, researchers say. That also had an effect on their career choices: Working mothers tend to choose lower-paid sectors, such as education, which provide flexibility in the summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are an administrative assistant for a school, your job will have a greater alignment with the school calendar,\u201d said Melanie Wasserman, a labor economist with the University of California, Los Angeles, and a co-author of the recent NBER paper. \u201cIf your children are in that school district, it will have closer proximity to where your kids are going to school.\u201d<\/p>\n Summer breaks have a similar impact on women\u2019s employment as the pandemic when schools closed and parents were forced to juggle work and child care, Wasserman told MarketWatch.\u00a0<\/p>\n While school closures during the pandemic received more \u201cwarranted attention\u201d from the public on how it impacted female employment relative to men\u2019s employment, summer breaks do not receive the same level of attention or support from employers or the public given how it impacts women\u2019s career trajectories, she added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Takeela Washington works part-time as a children\u2019s library-service assistant at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and is a single mom to her 8-year-old son, who is neurodivergent and has anxiety and sensory-processing disorders. On the side, she also operates a small business that curates sensory boxes for children with autism, anxiety, and sensory disorders.<\/p>\n This summer has been \u201cexceptionally challenging,\u201d she said.\u00a0Washington was able to send her son to a grant-funded camp for just $25 for the entire six weeks because her income falls below the federal poverty line \u2014 $19,720 a year for a household of two \u2014 but the camp only lasts for six weeks. It also ends early, so her son stays for after-camp care, usually from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. That, in addition to the before-camp care from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., meant the entire six-week run cost Washington $400.<\/p>\n To help out, Washington\u2019s aunt and mom came to the rescue \u2014 her mom changed her own 9-to-5 work schedule to 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. For the weeks between the end of camp and beginning of school, the family added Washington\u2019s stepfather to the caretaker pool. When no one is available, Washington takes her son to work.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n \u201c<\/span>\u2018When I get home every single day, my son is crying for sometimes 30 minutes to an hour because he\u2019s trying to readjust.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\n <\/p>\n The constant rotation of caretakers and environments was hard on Washington\u2019s son. \u201cWhen I get home every single day, my son is crying for sometimes 30 minutes to an hour because he\u2019s trying to readjust,\u201c she said.<\/p>\n Washington worked at a child-care center before the pandemic, where she also registered her son. When schools and businesses shut down in early 2020, her son had just started school. However, the child-care center does not take school-age children, so Washington quit her job to stay home with her son.<\/p>\n Working around her schedule to cater to her son\u2019s needs has always been a priority for her, Washington said. So she tried to find a fellowship or other jobs that would both meet his needs and pay the bills.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ultimately, she made the decision to \u201csacrifice\u201d earning more money \u201cthan have him in an unsafe environment, mentally or physically.\u201d<\/p>\n Also see:<\/strong> The rising cost of childcare is making life impossible for parents. Use our calculator to track the expense where you live.<\/p>\n During the school year, meanwhile, Isbell\u2019s two younger children, ages 9 and 11, go to after-school care. But when school is out for the summer, they too require full-time care. Isbell enrolled her kids in her state\u2019s subsidized child-care program for a flat fee, but she still had difficulties.\u00a0<\/p>\n Subsidized child-care programs typically calculate their fees based on pay stubs for the past 3 months or past 6 weeks, depending on the program, she said. Isbell, who shifted to part-time work in late April, paid $50 for each of her children per week for three months, which was subsequently reduced to $20 a week in mid-July.\u00a0<\/p>\n But because she was working less than 20 hours a week during the summer, Isbell said she struggles with even that lower cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n Isbell works in a salon during the summer months. Working full-time requires employees to work at least 30 hours per week, take on two closing shifts, and be available to work on weekends. Her child-care duties meant she could not commit to that. Closing the salon after 6 p.m., for instance, means she can\u2019t get to daycare until 6:30 p.m. \u2014 half an hour past the last pick-up time. During the school year, her son\u2019s after-school program is open until 7 p.m.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a double-edged sword: working full-time during the school year locks Isbell out of other government benefits. Isbell applied for government assistance to get through the lean summer months, but she wasn\u2019t eligible based on her full-time work earlier in the year. \u201cI only work part-time,\u201d Isbell said she told agency officials. \u201cThis isn\u2019t even half of what I usually make.\u201d<\/p>\n As the summer comes to a close, Isbell expects back-to-school season to be another financial strain on her household\u2019s finances as she must buy uniforms, shoes and other school supplies. She has already maxed out her credit cards.\u00a0<\/p>\n She planned to return to full-time work at the salon, although the requirement to show up for two closing shifts, and have weekend flexibility will make that near-impossible. But like millions of working moms across America, she will fight on.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou are a mother,\u201d she said. \u201cYou make a way when there\u2019s no way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n \u2014 Mia Isbell, a Pittsburgh-based mother <\/span>
\n <\/small><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWorking mothers and job choice<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n \u2014 Takeela Washington, mother of an 8-year-old son<\/span>
\n <\/small><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nBack-to-school season<\/strong><\/h2>\n