WorkingNation

Skip to content Caregiving is critical economic infrastructure, yet society still treats caregivers like an afterthought. To build a stronger economy, workplaces need practical solutions that actually support working families. In this episode of The Work Behind the Work podcast, we explore real ways to fix the caregiving crisis. From flexible job design to paid leave to better support for part-time and shift workers, we highlight practical changes already working in the real world.

Women aren’t stepping back from careers because they lack ambition. They’re being pushed out by workplaces built around the expectation that good employees have no caregiving responsibilities. In this episode of The Work Behind the Work podcast, we investigate how rigid workplaces, economic inequality, and unrealistic expectations for constant availability push talented mothers out of jobs at their peak earning years.

Women aren’t stepping back from careers because they lack ambition. They’re being pushed out by workplaces built around the expectation that good employees have no caregiving responsibilities. In this episode of The Work Behind the Work podcast, we investigate how rigid workplaces, economic inequality, and unrealistic expectations for constant availability push talented mothers out of jobs at their peak earning years.

The traditional image of the stay-at-home mother didn’t emerge by chance. It was intentionally created by marketers and industry leaders to meet economic needs during America’s industrial boom. In this episode of The Work Behind the Work podcast, we uncover how economic forces and deliberate cultural messaging crafted a myth of motherhood that pushed women out of paid work and into the home. This manufactured ideal still shapes workplaces and family expectations today.

In households across America, mothers are often the default managers of everything from medical care to education to emotional wellbeing, all while balancing paid work. Why does this enormous responsibility so often fall to women? And how is it impacting their careers and our broader economy? Care work isn’t instinctive. It’s assigned. In this episode of The Work Behind the Work podcast, we look at how caregiving roles form early and follow women into adulthood and the workplace.

Skip to content For some women, when they become mothers, their careers often pay the price. Their salaries stall, promotions become scarce, and workplaces quietly start to see them as less committed employees. In this episode on The Work Behind the Work podcast, we dig into why workplaces penalize women for motherhood, creating long-lasting economic consequences that affect families, businesses, and the entire economy. Where did the motherhood penalty come from, and how can we finally remove it?

There’s no single definition of rural America. Some rural communities are a small, but bustling, town center surrounded by vast swatches of farm land. Other communities are mountainous with a few homes and businesses scattered about the region. What they have in common is a population that wants to live and work in a community that offers a slower pace of life, one with financial stability. Providing quality jobs is key to making that happen. It takes a coalition of partners to make it work.

Everywhere you turn, people talk about skills-based hiring. And rightfully so. It represents one of the most promising shifts in workforce and HR strategies in decades. Research indicates that adopting skills-based hiring could expand an employer’s potential talent pool by 19 times. Or, think about it the other way around: not hiring people based on their skills sidelines jobseekers and leaves billions of dollars of untapped talent on the table for employers.

U.S. colleges and universities are increasingly concerned about declining enrollments and financial woes. National data finds 57% of college students are enrolled in programs where there is difficulty completing their degrees on time, according to Ad Astra – an academic software provider. In addition, 78% of completion paths have enrollment levels that are financially unsustainable.

After more than a century in the community, Phillips 66 is set to shut down its refinery facilities in the Los Angeles area later this year, impacting hundreds of union employees and contractors. While the company is pledging support for the workers who will be losing their jobs, a coalition of union, workforce development, and other local groups are also working to facilitate that transition.