Jess Calarco
@jessicacalarco.com
Sociologist. Author. Professor. Roosevelt Institute Fellow. Expert on families, schools, kids, privilege, and power. Bylines in NYT, WaPo, MSNBC, Atlantic, etc.
"Other countries have social safety nets. The US has women."
www.jessicacalarco.com
"Other countries have social safety nets. The US has women."
www.jessicacalarco.com
And of course, the White House in this analogy could also be an allegory for US democracy as a whole.
December 12, 2025 at 7:24 PM
And of course, the White House in this analogy could also be an allegory for US democracy as a whole.
Like, how do these "AI" toys respond if you ask them questions like:
Why do White people live longer, on average, than Black people?
Why are so many CEOs White men?
Is it better for kids if their moms stay home?
Do gay people make good parents?
Is it safe for kids to get gender-affirming care?
Why do White people live longer, on average, than Black people?
Why are so many CEOs White men?
Is it better for kids if their moms stay home?
Do gay people make good parents?
Is it safe for kids to get gender-affirming care?
December 12, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Like, how do these "AI" toys respond if you ask them questions like:
Why do White people live longer, on average, than Black people?
Why are so many CEOs White men?
Is it better for kids if their moms stay home?
Do gay people make good parents?
Is it safe for kids to get gender-affirming care?
Why do White people live longer, on average, than Black people?
Why are so many CEOs White men?
Is it better for kids if their moms stay home?
Do gay people make good parents?
Is it safe for kids to get gender-affirming care?
Maybe.
Unless employers use AI to justify workforce reductions, avoiding 2). In which case, the moms pushed out of the workforce in the short-term because of childcare costs/shortages could end up getting locked out long-term.
Or unless politicians take away birth control/abortion to thwart 1B).
Unless employers use AI to justify workforce reductions, avoiding 2). In which case, the moms pushed out of the workforce in the short-term because of childcare costs/shortages could end up getting locked out long-term.
Or unless politicians take away birth control/abortion to thwart 1B).
December 12, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Maybe.
Unless employers use AI to justify workforce reductions, avoiding 2). In which case, the moms pushed out of the workforce in the short-term because of childcare costs/shortages could end up getting locked out long-term.
Or unless politicians take away birth control/abortion to thwart 1B).
Unless employers use AI to justify workforce reductions, avoiding 2). In which case, the moms pushed out of the workforce in the short-term because of childcare costs/shortages could end up getting locked out long-term.
Or unless politicians take away birth control/abortion to thwart 1B).
For more on how childcare prices and availability affect maternal employment, see:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34095500/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34095500/
Expensive Childcare and Short School Days = Lower Maternal Employment and More Time in Childcare? Evidence from the American Time Use Survey - PubMed
This study investigates the relationship between maternal employment and state-to-state differences in childcare cost and mean school day length. Pairing state-level measures with an individual-level sample of prime working-age mothers from the American Time Use Survey (2005-2014; n = 37,993), we as …
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
December 12, 2025 at 5:01 PM
For more on how childcare prices and availability affect maternal employment, see:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34095500/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34095500/
Childcare (like most care sectors) doesn't follow basic rules of supply and demand, in part because most families who need care can barely afford current prices. If prices rise further, the most likely outcome will be that moms leave the workforce, even if that means being worse off financially.
December 12, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Childcare (like most care sectors) doesn't follow basic rules of supply and demand, in part because most families who need care can barely afford current prices. If prices rise further, the most likely outcome will be that moms leave the workforce, even if that means being worse off financially.
The deportation of immigrant childcare workers stands to exacerbate that moral dilemma while also exacerbating the crisis-level care shortages that are currently plaguing communities across the US, and that Trump's other policies have already made worse. 4/
hechingerreport.org/child-care-c...
hechingerreport.org/child-care-c...
Child care crisis deepens as funding slashed for poor families
As states brace for less federal money, some are cutting child care spending to balance their budgets. Experts warn these cuts will be disastrous for families and the economy.
hechingerreport.org
December 12, 2025 at 2:59 PM
The deportation of immigrant childcare workers stands to exacerbate that moral dilemma while also exacerbating the crisis-level care shortages that are currently plaguing communities across the US, and that Trump's other policies have already made worse. 4/
hechingerreport.org/child-care-c...
hechingerreport.org/child-care-c...
This creates moral dilemmas for families whose ability to afford childcare hinges on exploiting immigrants and other marginalized groups. Like the mom in Holding It Together who described feeling "really guilty about being complicit in this thing." 3/
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697130...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697130...
Holding It Together by Jessica Calarco: 9780593538128 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
Other countries have social safety nets. The U.S. has women. Holding It Together chronicles the causes and dire consequences. America runs on women—women who are tasked with holding society...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
December 12, 2025 at 2:59 PM
This creates moral dilemmas for families whose ability to afford childcare hinges on exploiting immigrants and other marginalized groups. Like the mom in Holding It Together who described feeling "really guilty about being complicit in this thing." 3/
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697130...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697130...
Immigrant women play a key role in the US childcare workforce. Because even with high prices, centers, most of which are small businesses, can't usually afford to offer benefits or decent wages. And so, the work falls to those who have limited access to better jobs. 2/
www.epi.org/publication/...
www.epi.org/publication/...
Trump’s deportation agenda will destroy millions of jobs: Both immigrants and U.S.-born workers would suffer job losses, particularly in construction and child care
Deportations will eliminate millions of jobs held by immigrant and U.S.-born workers according to research on increased immigration enforcement.
www.epi.org
December 12, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Immigrant women play a key role in the US childcare workforce. Because even with high prices, centers, most of which are small businesses, can't usually afford to offer benefits or decent wages. And so, the work falls to those who have limited access to better jobs. 2/
www.epi.org/publication/...
www.epi.org/publication/...