Moms at Amazon Are Demanding Better Child Care Benefits So They’re Not Held Back

Mom employees at Amazon are leading a rebellion to fight for better child care options in the workplace. The group, dubbed the Momazonians, is featured in a recent Bloomberg report. The movement is made up of more than 1,800 employees who plan to meet with senior managers in coming weeks to stake their claims.

Admittedly, Amazon has some generous family policies. In 2015 it expanded maternity leave from eight weeks to 20 and allowed paternity leave for the first time. Employees can take paid parental leave all at once or spread it out over time. And parents who return after childbirth have a transition period where they can work part-time for up to eight weeks.

But moms say it’s missing one important thing: backup day care. It’s something nearly all major tech companies currently offer, including Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Google parent Alphabet, according to Bloomberg.

Momazonians want the company to provide backup child care for when regular arrangements fall through. They’re also encouraging human resources to start collecting data about day care challenges to spotlight the common problem most parents are tasked with.

They even say the label “mother” is often associated with negative connotations at work. In fact, a handful of moms who anonymously spoke to Bloomberg say they try not to mention they have children to other co-workers and resist putting photos of their family on their desks. Some even admitted to not going for senior positions because they don’t think they’d get the support they need to do so.

Child care is one of the biggest hurdles working parents have to face, and more often than not it hits moms harder. No one can predict when a kid is going to get sick or when the babysitter will cancel last minute. Back up child care can help someone get a handle on this in a pinch.

No matter how hard moms try, it’s physically impossible to “do it all.” A company that acknowledges this and helps women succeed will not only make things easier for parents, but also creates happy, more efficient workers. Amazon, as well as countless others, should take note from companies like The Wing. The woman-focussed working space recently launched The Little Wing, a place for members to drop off their children under the supervision of highly trained professionals. Its founders hope this will give parents the space they need to succeed.