WASHINGTON — Working parents face a lot of challenges trying to juggle jobs and聽family responsibilities. But a new ranking puts聽the District of Columbia聽near the top of a list of states with聽policies that are friendly to families.
The availability of paid leave and child care helps D.C. rank third聽most family friendly聽on a聽 report card from The聽Institute for Women鈥檚 Policy Research. New York tops the list followed by聽California.
The 2015聽report on local rankings of policies friendly to families:
The District –聽“B” –聽3rd.
Maryland – “C” – 22nd.
Virginia –聽“D” – 45th.
The report also shows women聽bring home the bacon聽in half聽of all American families聽with children聽as either the primary breadwinner聽or working along with a spouse to support the household.
Mothers are the breadwinners in 46 percent of the聽D.C. married couples with children in D.C. That’s the highest parentage in the nation along with Vermont also at 46 percent.
Another聽top ranking for D.C. is the cost of infant child care eating up the most of a woman’s median income.
Only D.C.聽and Connecticut have statewide laws against companies discriminating against workers who are taking care of parents or disabled spouses. Nationwide聽women are nine times as likely as men to work part-time because they’re taking care of children or elderly parents, the study notes.
聽WTOP’s Kristi King contributed to this report
