More women are leaving the workforce, pushed out by a lack of child care support and stricter return-to-office policies, per a new KPMG analysis.

Why it matters: The exodus translates to less income and financial stability for households, as well as fewer career growth opportunities for women.

• There’s fallout for the overall economy, too: Businesses lose productive and experienced workers, and growth slows.

Where it stands: The departures started after pandemic-era supports for child care lapsed in 2023.

• The exodus appears to be accelerating as the job market weakens and federal job cuts and policy moves take a disproportionate toll on working women.

By the numbers: College-educated mothers with very young children are seeing the biggest declines.

• The percentage of these women in the labor force fell to 77% in August 2025, from a high near 80% in 2023, according to KPMG’s analysis of Census Bureau data.
• The next group to see drops: women without a bachelor’s degree with young kids, whose labor force participation declined by about 1 percentage point.
• Fathers, both with and without a bachelor’s degree, with very young kids had slight increases in labor force participation over the same period.

Reality check: Labor force participation for women is still higher than pre-pandemic levels, though the trajectory is down.

How it works: When child care is too pricey or unavailable, mothers typically leave paying jobs to stay home.

• That’s become even more likely now, as companies increasingly ask employees to work in the office, even on hybrid schedules.

🤝 Helping parents stay afloat

Small businesses will be critical for holding on to women in the workforce, says Sadie Funk, national director of the Fort Worth-based organization Best Place for Working Parents.

The big picture: After a few years of progress, working women are moving backward.

• The gender pay gap is back to where it was in 2017, moms are underrepresented in Congress and reproductive rights remain in limbo.

What they’re doing: Funk says many small businesses are leaning into the opportunity to be “responsive employers” and retain more of their workers.

Case in point: The Varghese Summersett law firm in Fort Worth converted one of its office spaces into nursery for babies and playroom for older children.

• Austin’s Kerbey Lane Cafe offers free take-home meals for employees’ families twice a week, Funk says.
• Some companies delay their start time on the first day of school.

The bottom line: “It’s absolutely critical for our economy to keep women in the workforce,” Funk says.

• “And if you are not open to remote work, that’s okay. There are other ways you can lean in and support your employees.”