California is in the bottom half of the list when it comes to best states for working moms, lagging behind in pay and child care costs when compared to other states.

With Mother’s Day around the corner and 74 percent of women with children participating in the labor force last year, the personal-finance website WalletHub has released its report on 2024’s Best & Worst States for Working Moms, as well as expert commentary.

In order to help ease the burden on mothers in the workforce, WalletHub compared the attractiveness of each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia for a working mother based on 17 key metrics. The data set ranges from the median salary for women to the female unemployment rate to day-care quality.

Massachusetts was the state with the best overall rank for working moms, followed by Rhode Island at number two, the District of Columbia, Connecticut and Minnesota rounding out the top five. The bottom five were Idaho, Nevada, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.

Life as a Working Mom in California (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

Overall Rank: 34th

49th – Day-Care Quality

43rd – Child-Care Costs (Adjusted for Median Women’s Salary)

30th – Pediatricians per Capita

7th – Gender Pay Gap (Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s)

27th – Ratio of Female Executives to Male Executives

48th – Median Women’s Salary (Adjusted for Cost of Living)

46th – Female Unemployment Rate

6th – Parental-Leave Policy Score

15th – Avg. Length of Woman’s Work Week (in Hours)

16th – Percentage of Single-Mom Families in Poverty

“Working moms have to carefully balance career opportunities with factors that provide a good environment for their children when deciding where to live. The best states provide equitable pay for women and the potential for career advancement, along with robust parental leave policies and high-quality child care, health care, and schools. This gives working moms both the financial ability and the peace of mind to not have to choose between a career and family,” said WalletHub Analyst Cassandra Happe. “Massachusetts is the best state for working moms, in part because it had one of the lowest unemployment rates for women last year, at just 2.8 percent. Massachusetts also has some of the best parental-leave policies in the country, and The Bay State is one of the best states for working from home, which can allow moms to easily keep an eye on kids while still performing their jobs. To top things off, Massachusetts has the best public schools in the country.”

For the full report, visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-for-working-moms/3565

Expert Commentary

What can companies do to help working parents balance home and work life?

“One of the most important things that companies can do is to know their employees and listen to their needs. The needs will vary significantly depending on several factors – the type of work the employees are expected to do, the ages of their children or the needs of the other family members for whom they provide care, and the priorities of the workers. Do the workers see this job as a stepping-stone within the company, a temporary stopping place as they gain experience to move on to other jobs or a career, or just a place to make money for now? One of the most important factors is whether the work and family balance is weighted more heavily toward work or family for each individual person. That is, what comes first – the need to keep the job to support the family, the desire to build a career, the safety and well-being of the children while parents are at work, the relationships in the family, or something else? Most employees will say that all those things are important, but there are many times when all workers need to decide on priorities and choose what comes first.”

Judith A. Myers-Walls, Ph.D. – Professor Emerita, Purdue University; Education Director, Online Parenting Programs

“Balance is a tricky word here largely because it is never completely level; however, research consistently shows that social policies that reflect an understanding of the unpredictability of childcare and caregiving such as comprehensive family leave, extra personal time off, and sick leave assist tremendously for working parents. Additionally, productivity levels tend to be higher, especially if one parent is a sole caregiver or if one parent functions as the primary caregiver and has a work schedule that allows for attending school functions like parent-teacher conferences. Other useful strategies could include following the direction of major companies like Johnson & Johnson, Citigroup, and Adobe: on-site daycare for infants up to four years, daycare discounts or subsidies, backup childcare, and flexible hours.”

Dr. Alicia D. Bonaparte – Professor & Medical Sociologist, Pitzer College; President of the Pacific Sociological Association 2023-2024

With one in four parents suffering from burnout, what are some key drivers to attract, retain, and support working parents?

“There are four things that employers can do to attract, retain, and support working parents. First, employers must prioritize the family health and vitality of their workers. When workers are happy in their family lives, they are happier and more productive workers who are more likely to remain at their places of employment. Second, employers must clearly state that they want and value working parents. Since working parents are such a strong demographic in the workforce, employers must make these workers feel seen and appreciated. Third, employers can attract, retain, and support working parents by providing free recreational activities for them and their families as well as providing free meals annually or biannually. These small ‘perks’ would mean so much to working parents who oftentimes do not have the time or money to provide relaxation for themselves and their children or parents who are oftentimes tired and do not have the energy to cook a nutritious healthy meal for their family. Finally, employers must understand the multiple, unexpected changes that families go through and support families as they experience these changes. This support can be financial, emotional, physical, or social. All of these forms of support help stabilize families during difficult times and increase the likelihood that they will remain together and become stronger after these changes.”

Cassandra D. Chaney, Ph.D. – Professor, Louisiana State University

As women’s employment has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, what steps should policymakers take to support working mothers’ labor force participation and address disparities between men and women in the labor market?

“It is important to keep parents’ voices heard when decisions are made. Include mothers and fathers as part of planning groups and decision-making bodies regarding leave policies, employee benefits, work environment changes, and similar visioning. Ask new employees what they will need to be successful and have exit interviews when they leave. Even mothers gained new insights about what they needed and how the family operated during the pandemic. As a society, we learned new ways of doing things and learned that we could let go of some things that “had always been done a certain way.” But we also tried some new things that we were glad to leave behind as (we) developed the new normal. It will be important for employers and families together to blaze this new trail.”

Judith A. Myers-Walls, Ph.D. – Professor Emerita, Purdue University; Education Director, Online Parenting Programs