High child care costs and low availability are strongly linked to women’s workforce participation according to new research from Ball State University. Researchers say child care can be a barrier to entry for Hoosier women looking for work.

Michael Hicks, is an economist at Ball State who worked on the study. He said, for some families, the financial incentive to cover child care so that both parents can work can be unrealistic.

In 2022, the median hourly wage for a woman in Indiana was $21.53. But after factoring in taxes and typical child care costs, an average worker at that rate could earn less than $4 an hour. Similarly, that same year, the national median hourly pay for child care workers was $13.32. These low wages make it hard for employers to attract staff.

“The problem is, on both sides of this, is that we're not seeing high enough wages,” Hicks said. “And so we know that the thing that would improve wages, for both women in the workforce here in Indiana and child care providers is better education."

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Hicks said having more workers with a degree could ensure higher wages for women and child care providers, which in turn would help fill child care jobs and increase the availability of care.

It could also lead to an increase in the number of workers in child care, something the study found to be a key factor for women’s overall workforce participation rate.

Timoria is our labor and employment reporter. Contact her at tcunningham@wfyi.org.