Why are 10 million moms missing from the workplace?

In 2014, the Pew Research Center posted a study on highly educated women who are “opting out” of the workforce, choosing instead to stay at home and care for their families. This fascinating study focuses on the relatively small percentage of mothers choosing this career path, but perhaps the more interesting detail -- particularly for entrepreneurs -- is the number of talented, capable women who are currently out of work.

The 2010 U.S. Census found that 31 percent of full-time stay-at-home moms have at least a bachelor’s degree. That’s more than 10 million women with professional skills and creativity that could be enhancing our business culture. Unfortunately, because of the lack of flexible options for moms, many of these women choose to leave the workforce completely -- often not entirely by choice, but out of necessity.

Imagine a world where these educated, ambitious mothers had the opportunity to choose a career path that worked for them -- where they were able to bring their skillset to the table without giving up their full-time mom gig. How much are we losing by not including these women in the workforce? How many successful CEOs, gifted writers and financial geniuses are we missing out on? With modern technology, there is no reason entrepreneurial ventures shouldn’t include moms and the talents they have to offer.

My firm has employed dozens of stay-at-home moms. We use creative processes to include staff from all over the western U.S. This gives my business the flexibility to hire contracted employees for the work they are best at. Let me offer some of the solutions we have found helpful to incorporate the power of working moms into our business.