More than half of Texas counties are considered childcare deserts, and according to a new report from the Texas Women's Foundation, the lack of access to childcare is hurting the state's economy.
NTX Now's Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning sat down with Karen Hughes White, the foundation's president and CEO, to breakdown the report's findings.
These interview highlights have been edited for length and clarity. To hear the full conversation, click the listen button above.
Women in the workforce
Women play an important role in Texas's economy, but a variety of barriers are getting harder to overcome.
"Women comprise 46% of workforce here in Texas, but there are key barriers to women's ability to participate fully, consistently, and productively in the workforce that essentially are getting worse," White said.
She also said women are enrolling in higher education at 1.5 times the rate of Texas men, and population trends predict women will be more than 50% of the Texas population by 2040.
"Texas and Texas employers have some work to do to be ready to support women in the workforce, and in return to support a really resilient and strong economy here across the state," White said.
How that relates to childcare
There are three main barriers when it comes to finding childcare in Texas: access, affordability, and quality-related issues, which White describes as "a crisis."
"What we've learned on the affordability front is that center-based infant care in Texas costs more than $11,000 a year, and that actually is more than a full year of tuition at an in-state university," White said.
And while the cost of childcare is high, the availability is low.
"Over half of Texas counties are considered what's called childcare deserts," she said. "That's defined as when there are three or more children available for each licensed slot. It's more than nearly 112,000 Texas children lacking access within any kind of reasonable driving distance."
What's next?
White says finding a solution to make childcare more accessible is economically imperative.
"Investing in childcare is not just a social mandate, but it's a market aligned strategy that supports workforce participation, economic resilience, and economic growth," she said. "It's an economic infrastructure issue — not a women's issue and not a family's issue."
Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning are the hosts of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org or Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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