Power Home Remodeling Now Offers Subsidized Childcare
Home improvement giant Power Home Remodeling now offers subsidized childcare for its employees in an effort to support work-life balance and increase women in construction and in the overall workforce, according to the announcement.
Power Home Remodeling co-CEO Asher Raphael announced the new benefit at the company’s annual Women’s Summit. Employees can receive up to $5,000 tax-free for childcare through the company's partnership with TOOTRiS, a childcare benefits platform.
“I am passionate—we are passionate as an organization—to come up with solutions to keep women in the workforce,” said Raphael at the event.
Power Home Remodeling says its benefit will assist in offsetting childcare costs by up to 40%.
Subsidized Childcare as a Form of Workforce Retention
In the announcement, the company noted the increasing number of households where both parents work and childcare's rising cost.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the cost of childcare services remains financially unfeasible for many families, with costs up to nearly 20% of a median family income. Census data has shown that of the population not working, women ages 25 to 44 are three times more likely than men to not work due to childcare demands.
A report conducted by the national bipartisan nonprofit group focused on the next generation of the workforce, Council for a Strong America, found the annual economic cost of the county’s childcare challenges results in $57 billion in lost earnings.
The report continues to elaborate that “almost two-thirds of parents facing childcare struggles report leaving work early, and more than half report being distracted at or missing full days of work.”
Helping Women in Construction
Women overwhelmingly leave the workforce due to childcare needs more often than men, and with industries in need of workers, efforts to support working women have become a greater focus in recent years.
For the construction industry, there are more than 300,000 open jobs, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Childcare is a proven means for supporting a workforce where women can thrive, especially in an industry such as construction with special requirements for jobsite hours, changing schedules, and changing commutes.
Other Initiatives for Women in Construction
This is the latest effort Power has made to serve the changing workforce, specifically, its female workforce, but it’s not the $1 billion company’s only program for women. Power also says it offers infertility coverage, adoption and surrogacy support, inclusive parental leave policy, and a travel and lodging reimbursement policy for employees needing medical care out of state. The latter was announced in May 2022 as a response to changes in reproductive healthcare laws, such as abortion.
This is one effort from the company’s Power Women’s Initiative, which is aimed to provide mentorship, community, and professional and personal development, including the Women’s Summit. The company also offers a Power Veterans Initiative and Veteran’s Summit; a Black Empowerment Resource Group (BERG); and a company-wide Cultural Diversity & Inclusion Summit.
Power recently welcomed a VP of Community Impact and President of The Power for Good Foundation, Anu Gupta. In the announcement, the company says “The next iteration of who POWER is going to become is a business founded in service…”
Other construction companies and organizations have taken notice of the effects and importance of childcare needs to increase women in the workforce, such as Milwaukee, Wisc.’s pilot program for women in the trades. The pilot offers financial assistance to 10 tradespeople, paying half their childcare costs. Plus, task forces from the National Association of Women in Construction aimed to research programs that help with childcare support and seek resolutions to expand access for women in construction.
