Abstract
Resources at the institutional, neighborhood, and personal network levels enable families to exercise greater flexibility with work and caregiving without sacrificing their economic security. Yet the availability and magnitude of these resources differ dramatically by race, ethnicity, and gender, reflecting the wide gaps in wealth ownership between women and men and between people of color and whites. In the U.S., single black and Latina women own one cent for every dollar owned by men of their own racial/ethnic groups and less than 0.3 cents for every dollar owned by white women or men (Chang & Lui, 2010). Among women with sole economic responsibility for their families, black and Latina mothers have a median wealth of zero, whereas white mothers own $6,000 at the median (Chang & Mason, 2010). Regardless of parental status, married and cohabitating couples have more assets than singles, but the racial gaps persist; black couples have median wealth of $31,500, while whites have more than five times as much: $167,500 (Chang & Lui, 2010). Latinas face similarly large gaps. Although many studies have quantified the size of these gender-racial wealth gaps (Chang, 2010; Chang & Lui, 2010; Schmidt & Sevak, 2006), this brief adds to the discussion by considering the question “How do these gaps affect families’ everyday experiences around childcare options —or lack thereof—and staying afloat after changes in household composition?”