Q) Greetings Carleen, can you briefly outline your professional journey and what led you to establish EnrichedHQ as CEO?

Over the last 22 years, I’ve carved out a fulfilling career in enterprise tech, starting as a developer for Fortune 1000 clients before expanding into leadership roles across product, operations, marketing, and ultimately, sales of complex infrastructure solutions to C-level executives. As a proud single mother of a 12-year-old son, I’ve always strived to balance my professional aspirations with my parenting responsibilities, often going the extra mile to overcome the biases against working single parents in corporate America.

The challenges of balancing caregiving and a demanding career, especially as a single mother, became even more pronounced with the onset of the pandemic in early 2020. This period not only tested my ability to juggle professional and personal roles but also highlighted the gaps in support for working parents, particularly when it comes to educational and extracurricular opportunities for our children.

Motivated by my experiences and the technological gaps I identified, I founded EnrichedHQ in 2020. My vision for EnrichedHQ was to leverage technology to create a platform that offers virtual extracurricular programs for school-aged children, aiming to support working families, especially women. I wanted to build a solution that addressed my struggles, providing accessible educational opportunities that complement school learning and focus on essential life skills. My aim is to ensure that all children, regardless of their economic background or abilities, have immediate access to the best programs from a single platform.

Q) What personal strategies have you found effective in leading a company focused on empowering working mothers and supporting employed families?

As a single mother juggling many things, I’ve found it critical to have the upcoming week fully planned out by Sunday night. This way, from Monday to Friday, I can stay squarely in “execution” mode. It allows me to avoid the trap of feeling busy with nothing actually getting done. It also gives me space to spend focused time with my son on weekends rather than the stress of feeling I must work to address carry-over items from the previous week.

This one little habit has been a game-changer for me. Taking this hour Sunday night to pinpoint the must-do weekly items and prioritizing them puts me at ease going into Monday mornings. I’m also a paper and pencil person so I do this all offline. It’s what works best for me, but the key is that, after years, it’s a habit I love doing.

Q) What advice would you offer HR leaders to combat the “Mommy Tax” and close the gender pay gap within their organizations?

The first piece of advice I share with HR leaders and benefit providers centers on the need for inclusivity of childcare benefits. It’s critical to address the needs of all working parents, not just those with young children who can benefit from daycare or backup care services. While these benefits are vital, they cater to only about 40% of the working parent demographic.

The “Mommy Tax” is especially burdensome for families with school-aged children. As kids grow, the logistics and costs of afterschool care and extracurricular activities become more complex and no less expensive.

Moreover, it’s important to recognize that while women generally earn less than their male counterparts, mothers face an additional penalty, earning an average of 5% less per child compared to their childless female colleagues. The financial strain of out-of-school programs, coupled with the logistical challenges of managing children’s participation in these activities, imposes significant extra stress on their professional lives. This stress is unique and not shared by colleagues utilizing daycare stipends or nanny services, highlighting a critical area for HR to address in order to combat the gender pay gap effectively.

Q) How can HR best support employed families, especially working mothers, in balancing caregiving duties and their careers?

I firmly believe in the principle that “culture comes from the top.” It’s essential that both executive leadership and HR departments cultivate an organizational culture that genuinely supports and embraces working families. Here are a few practical steps to consider:

1. Train for Flexibility: It’s crucial to equip team leaders and managers with the tools and understanding to accommodate flexibility effectively. Consider the typical school day ending around 3 pm, while the workday extends to 5/6 pm. Recognizing and accommodating the scheduling conflicts faced by working parents, such as school pickups or drop-offs, can make a significant difference. Similarly, rethinking scheduling early morning meetings can help accommodate the morning routines of working families.
2. Foster Autonomy, Not Just Flexibility: Treating employees as the adult professionals they are involves granting them autonomy in how they manage their workday, rather than merely offering flexibility. This approach allows parents to tailor their work schedules in a way that best suits their family’s needs, whether that means working later in the evening to spend afternoons with their children or adjusting hours to better align with childcare.
3. Provide Options: Offering support that caters to all families, not just those with young children, is vital. Parents are looking for ways to engage their children in activities that spark their interest or deepen existing passions. Tools and programs like EnrichedHQ, which alleviate the burden of finding, vetting, and scheduling specialized programs for school-aged children, can be incredibly valuable. These services allow parents to focus more on their work and less on the logistical challenges of supporting their children’s extracurricular activities.

Q) How does collaboration with online childcare educational platforms empower HR leaders to facilitate a smoother work-life balance for their employees?

Echoing what I’ve mentioned before, it’s important to note that in the U.S., nearly 60% of working parents have children aged between 10-18 years. We, as parents, understand that the need for “childcare” doesn’t just disappear after daycare. Instead, the nature of the costs and needs evolves. Beyond just the financial aspect, there’s a growing concern that children aren’t acquiring the life skills necessary for success in adulthood.

This is where collaboration with platforms like EnrichedHQ comes into play. Such platforms offer a seamless way for parents to access a variety of highly vetted programs and providers. These programs are tailored to equip children with the essential skills they need, covering everything from academic support to real-life skills.

For working parents, this means less stress and worry about their children’s after-school activities and development. They can dedicate their focus and energy to work, confident that their children are engaged in meaningful, enriching activities. It’s a significant benefit for both the parents and their employers, fostering a happier, more productive workforce by ensuring smoother work-life integration.

Q) What role do you see online childcare educational platforms playing in enhancing the overall support system for working parents, and how can HR integrate these solutions into their benefits packages effectively?

Given our focus on delivering programs virtually, I might be slightly biased, but the unique value of EnrichedHQ lies in its collection of exclusive, highly vetted providers that adhere to rigorous standards. By centralizing access to these quality programs—often at discounts or even for free as part of employee benefits—families can tangibly feel that their employer not only understands their needs but is also actively enhancing its family-friendly culture.

However, a word of caution I always share with our HR leader clients is about the critical importance of effective communication and engagement strategies. Merely adding these benefits isn’t enough; the real challenge is ensuring that they truly meet the needs of working parents and that these parents are aware and can easily access them. It’s not a “build it and they will come” scenario.

To tackle this, we collaborate closely with our clients to raise awareness among working parents. This includes organizing introductory sessions, lunch-and-learns, and leveraging internal HR communications to promote these offerings. We find that many of our providers are eager to participate in these sessions, as it’s an excellent opportunity to showcase the diverse and valuable options available to families.

By integrating these solutions into their benefits packages with thoughtful consideration and proactive engagement, HR departments can significantly enhance the support system available to working parents, reinforcing a truly inclusive and supportive workplace culture.

Q) How do you anticipate EnrichedHQ’s diverse courses benefiting children of all ability levels and interests, and what positive impacts might this collaboration have on employees, their families, and their employers?

Seeing children explore and discover new interests through EnrichedHQ’s wide range of courses is immensely rewarding. Equally rewarding is providing children with the extra support they need in challenging school subjects. Our platform’s ability to offer parents a streamlined way to curate comprehensive educational programs from a single source significantly eases their burden. This, in turn, leads to happier parents, which naturally results in happier, more loyal, and more productive employees.

When parents have easy access to a trusted source offering a diverse array of options for their children’s education and development, their stress levels decrease significantly. This is particularly true for mothers, who often bear the brunt of coordinating their children’s extracurricular learning. By alleviating this pressure, EnrichedHQ not only enriches children’s lives with new knowledge and skills but also supports parents in maintaining their career trajectories. This leads to a more satisfied and stable workforce, benefiting employers through increased loyalty and productivity.

The positive impacts of integrating EnrichedHQ’s offerings into a family’s life extend beyond the immediate family to influence the broader company culture. Employers who support their workforce in this way are seen as more attractive places to work, helping to attract and retain top talent in a competitive job market.

Q) What message would you like to convey to organizations about the importance of prioritizing work-life balance and childcare support?

My message to organizations is straightforward: Lead with grace and empower with autonomy. It’s crucial to design childcare benefit packages that meet the diverse needs of all parents. The “Mommy Tax” is not just a concept but a tangible burden affecting working parents—encompassing both the direct costs of childcare programs and the indirect professional costs, such as missed career advancement opportunities or being overlooked for promotions and desirable projects. Particularly for women, this tax feels like a penalty paid merely for the privilege of working.

Organizations have the power to mitigate these challenges with relatively minimal investment, simply by providing access to appropriate support tools and fostering an environment that values autonomy. By taking these steps, companies can significantly alleviate the financial and emotional strain on working parents, demonstrating a genuine commitment to their well-being and, by extension, enhancing their loyalty and productivity.

Q) What innovative approaches do you believe are essential for corporations to adopt to better address the needs of working parents and carers?

Creative, innovative approaches are key to meeting the needs of working parents and carers effectively. Here are a few strategic yet straightforward methods we’ve seen yield positive results with our clients:

1. Expand Reimbursement Programs: Many companies offer reimbursement for employees who complete external courses relevant to their current or aspirational roles. A powerful adaptation of this policy would be to extend these reimbursement programs to cover educational programs for employees’ children, similar to those provided by EnrichedHQ. This opens a pathway for families to support their children’s learning and development without financial burden.
2. Offer Stipends for Extracurriculars: Just as employers allocate funds for daycare or backup care, they can extend similar financial support to families with older children for after-school and extracurricular activities. By establishing contracts with organizations like EnrichedHQ, companies can ensure these stipends are directly accessible to employees, offering a seamless support system catering to diverse needs and desires.
3. Actively Cultivate Vendor Partnerships: Establishing a strong relationship with vendors who specialize in supporting working families can significantly enhance the support provided. By collaborating to create exclusive events and programs at no cost to employees’ children, and promoting these opportunities through internal HR and Employee Support Groups, companies can ensure these initiatives reach and benefit their intended audience. These partnerships are particularly effective when they involve existing or newly formed Employee Support Groups focused on working women or families, fostering a sense of community and support within the organization.

Q) Finally, what final thoughts or key takeaways would you like to share regarding the future impact of collaborative efforts between corporations and online childcare educational platforms like EnrichedHQ?

The reality that working parents, particularly women, are contemplating whether to continue their careers or opt for resignation or job changes is undeniable. Studies indicate that up to 37% of working women may quit or change jobs within the next year, a decision fraught with significant costs for corporations. The financial impact of an employee’s resignation can reach up to 1.5 times their annual salary, not to mention the additional expenses involved in recruiting and onboarding replacements.

Corporations that acknowledge the root of this issue—the “Mommy Tax”—and actively engage in mitigating its effects position themselves for success. By partnering with online childcare and educational platforms like EnrichedHQ, companies can significantly reduce this burden. The benefits of such collaborative efforts are profound: enhanced employee retention, a workforce that is happier, less stressed, and more productive, and the avoidance of costly turnover expenses.

The future impact of these collaborations is clear. Companies willing to invest in the well-being of their employees, especially working parents, will not only foster a more positive and supportive workplace culture but also secure a competitive edge through higher retention rates and reduced operational costs. This strategic approach underscores the vital role that support for working families plays in the broader corporate success narrative.