When ‘Mom’ Is The Safety Net

A year and a half ago, Shana Thomas was a mom of three who earned a good salary. She’d worked her way up at a company she loved and was telling younger women they could "have it all.” The pandemic changed everything. She's now one of the 4.5 million women who has left employment behind since the start of 2020, and is now an in-home services caregiver for her youngest daughter who’s a wheelchair user, and an unpaid virtual teaching assistant for her older two kids. But nearly a year after leaving her career, she’s finding her footing and increasing moments of peace with her path.

This is a story about sacrifice and unexpected hope.

The Center for American Progress’ Calculator was used to find the long term costs of leaving the paid workforce due to childcare.

This is part three of our series on the true cost of the pandemic for moms, a partnership between us, The Guardian, and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.

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