Make It Free: More than 70 women-led businesses and 600 business owners demand urgent childcare reform

A group of predominately women-led businesses are spearheading an urgent campaign calling on the government to make early childhood care and education free.

The Make It Free campaign was borne from the frustration and disbelief a number of female entrepreneurs experienced when the federal government announced it would snap back to the old “inaccessible and unaffordable” childcare system.

Shebah, Verve Super, Frankly Co, Logie Interiors and Her Lawyer are among the campaign’s founding partners, but in just a few days, 70 businesses have signed on to support the campaign.

Dee Behan, co-founder of Make It Free and founder of Frankly Co, knows how crippling the cost of early childhood education and care is — and how badly it’s exacerbated in the current economic climate.

“The cost of childcare is so high in Australia that it is a real barrier for parents like me who run their own businesses,” Behan says.

“The devastating economic impact caused by COVID-19 has just exacerbated how unaffordable it is, while simultaneously proving how invaluable and essential it is.”

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In Australia, some parents spend approximately 31% of their household income on childcare — more than double the OECD average — with 50% of families struggling to afford often exorbitant childcare costs.

Australian families have never struggled with the cost of early childhood education and care as much as they are now. The Parenthood’s national survey in May showed that a third of families would not be able to afford the care they previously could.

For women like Dee and so many others involved in Make It Free, these costs are crippling, and totally compromises their ability to get their businesses back on track. These are businesses that have taken years to build up and businesses their founders want to salvage.

But if they can’t afford childcare, it will be almost impossible to do.

“For most Australian families it only makes financial sense for one parent to work full-time, and as we know, in most cases, it is a woman who forgoes their salary, superannuation and career,” says Verve Super CEO Christina Hobbs.

“If we expect to make significant change when it comes to gender equality and financial parity in Australia we need to take a hard look at the childcare system and parental leave.”

Without addressing the high cost of care, the pay gap that sees women retiring with 37% less super than men will not shrink.

“For many women, the years spent working unpaid to care for children have lasting impacts on their superannuation,” Hobbs says.

“Often it is not a choice to forgo their paid work but instead a decision made out of necessity.

“While the cost of childcare remains a barrier for Australian families we will fail to close the pay gap and women will continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions,” Hobbs adds.

“We shouldn’t be making money out of our children,” says Georgina McEncroe, the CEO of women’s ride-sharing service Shebah.

“It’s time for the government to pay up and make childcare free for good, and for all.”

A 2019 report by PwC for The Front Project found that, for every dollar spent on childcare, two dollars flowed into the economy — yet campaigners have been told for decades that making this essential service free was out of the question.

That was until Prime Minister Scott Morrison overnight made it free in April 2020, offering a liferaft to many families and businesses impacted by COVID-19.

“You don’t have to be a parent or a business owner to see that making it free makes sense but as both a mum and an entrepreneur trying to keep my business afloat during a pandemic,” Behan says.

“I hope the government makes the obvious decision and makes childcare free, permanently.”

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The benefits associated with the provision of universal high-quality affordable early childhood education and care are immense and not just for children and families. It does set children up for the best possible future and it facilitates parents being able to work and provide for their families.

But it would also provide much-needed stability and security to the underpaid workforce that delivers this essential service.

And it will boost Australia’s productivity and recharge the economy.

More than 70 businesses have joined the Make It Free movement and more than 600 business owners and parents have signed their petition.

Behan says the Morrison government has shown that it’s aware that making early education free is possible.

“It’s time to recognise the life-changing impact it can have on Australian families, children businesses, and the economy.”

Indeed.

This article was first published by Women’s Agenda.

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