Google, JPMorgan and nearly 200 companies unite to tackle 'caregiving crisis'

More than a hundred businesses have joined together to combat the mass exodus of women from the workforce due to inequities related to caregiving responsibilities.

Dozens of businesses -- including industry giants Google, JPMorgan Chase and Verizon -- have united to combat the mass exodus of women from the workforce due to inequities pertaining to caregiving responsibilities, a crisis further exposed over the past year by the pandemic. The Care Economy Business Council, a coalition of corporations spanning industries from fashion to tech, officially launched Wednesday. Spearheaded by the advocacy group Time's Up, the alliance has the ambitious goal of reimagining the nation's caregiving infrastructure. "Our economy cannot reach its full potential without women, and women cannot reach their full potential without a reimagining of care," the group said in a statement announcing its formation. As women bore the brunt of caregiving responsibilities during the health crisis that shuttered schools and sickened millions, some 2.4 million women left the labor force entirely between February 2020 and February 2021, according to Pew Research Center data.