KANSAS CITY, MO – June 25, 2024 – The United WE National Commission on Childcare and Women’s Entrepreneurship today announced its Statement of Principles to guide its mission in sparking new evidence-based practices and policies to assist more entrepreneurial women in finding diverse childcare solutions to fully participate in the dynamic U.S. economy.
The Statement of Principles were revealed at the “Takes Heart: A Celebration of Women Entrepreneurs” event held at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The exclusive event focused on celebrating women entrepreneurs and featured an interactive 5-foot tall heart located outside the Kauffman Foundation as part of Kansas City’s Parade of Hearts.
“For women entrepreneurs who need expanded childcare support to help them achieve greater business success, current childcare solutions are not cutting it,” says Wendy Doyle, President & CEO of United WE. “The United WE National Commission on Childcare and Women’s Entrepreneurship, funded by a Kauffman Foundation grant, is engaging a broader coalition of audiences — other than traditional childcare stakeholders — who are not typically part of the conversation but their voices and support are needed to help solve America’s childcare crisis.”
The Commission of national leaders is one element of a Kauffman Foundation grant that also included a state-by-state childcare licensing research report and a recent nationwide survey of women entrepreneurs and their childcare needs.
The Commission’s Statement of Principles includes the following key recommendations:
accommodate supply-side (e.g., operational grants and targeted tax credits for teachers and program operators) and demand-side (e.g., vouchers for families) public support.
compensate the childcare workforce sufficiently so that early educators flourish and the quality of childcare programs improves.
include robust, real-time data on childcare supply and demand so that policymakers can accurately plan for, and fund, services for the age groups and locations where gaps are most significant, and families can easily identify available spaces, reserve, and enroll in childcare sites online.
Learn more about United WE’s work to create meaningful change for all women and read the Commission’s full Statement of Principles here.