The new ‘mommy track’: Working moms are founding startups to solve problems the government and Corporate America won’t
When Stephanie Fornaro was 5 and her younger brother was 6 months old, her mother left and did not come back. When Fornaro had her own children, she vowed she would do better. She left her sales job in preparation for the birth of her second child in 2017. But after the birth, Fornaro struggled. Her husband, an entrepreneur, was on the road half the time. And she was lost in a fog of postpartum…
Stephanie Fornaro's personal experience with postpartum depression inspired her to create Hello Nanny!, a platform that simplifies the process of hiring childcare. As the founder of Workforce Infrastructure Institute, she advocates for tax code reform to support working parents. Fornaro's story is one of many among the 130+ mothers who responded to a call from Fast Company, all of whom have started businesses aimed at addressing the challenges faced by working mothers in America.
These companies tackle various issues, from childcare to mental health support. The article highlights the fault lines in American motherhood, pointing to two significant historical events that shaped the current situation: the government's ban on employing married couples in the same job in 1930 and the veto of the Comprehensive Child Development Act in 1971.
Despite these setbacks, the number of women in the workforce has steadily increased, crossing the 50% mark in the late 1970s. However, the cultural expectation that women should not rely on help for childcare has persisted, leading to the creation of new solutions by mothers frustrated with the status quo.
Written by urgent.news from Fast Company's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
