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Nanette Turner Kalcik Participates in WBJ Career Women Roundtable on Child-Care Challenges for the Workforce

Wichita, Kan. (August 22, 2022) - Wichita Partner Nanette Turner Kalcik recently participated in a Career Women Roundtable about challenges that professional women face with child-care, hosted by the Wichita Business Journal (WBJ) on August 19.  

In a WBJ article titled “Career Women: Child-care challenges persist as kids return to school,” Ms. Kalcik discussed how for working parents, finding after-school care and all-day childcare options can be a difficult endeavor.  

"I think it's one area of our society where there's not real assistance across the board," said Ms. Kalcik about the lack of afterschool care for children, whether through private businesses or government initiatives. “Daycares and after school facilities are at capacity, which means parents and caregivers are forced to make difficult decisions about whether to return (or stay) in the workforce. In the midst of the Great Resignation and particularly given the current difficulty with recruiting for many industries, we need to be thinking about how to support these families. Many are valuable employees, and they need childcare. These are not new issues, but we need new and accessible solutions.” 

The roundtable discussion featured women from the Wichita Community, who spoke about the lack of affordable daycares in the Midwest, a long-standing issue that has not seen significant progress in recent years. According to the publication, existing child-care availability in Sedgwick County is only meeting 37% of potential demand, and there are between 11 and 20 children per one child-care opening in the county. Locally, waiting lists for infant care can span 18 months—much longer than the duration of a pregnancy. 

The Career Women identified possible solutions to take some of the strain off of the childcare system, including employer-based childcare centers. While employers are looking for ways to retain talent and recruit new employees, the participants agreed that an in-house employer-based childcare center would be a huge incentive and benefit to new and existing employees

The participants also evaluated how government initiatives and subsidies could impact the current childcare crisis. “In the end, childcare facilities are reaching critical mass and the workforce is taking a hit. The path forward will likely require innovative solutions to resolve this issue that has been percolating for decades,” Ms. Kalcik opined.

Ms. Kalcik is a member of Lewis Brisbois' Labor & Employment and Complex Business & Commercial Litigation Practices. An experienced litigator and trial attorney, she represents a wide range of clients in a variety of matters, including complex civil litigation, commercial litigation, medical malpractice disputes, tort and personal injury actions, oil and gas litigation, employment disputes, class action claims, municipal law, financial services litigation, and consumer and mortgage finance law. She also provides employment counseling and pre-litigation advice to business entities.   

Ms. Kalcik was honored by WBJ at its "40 Under 40" Awards earlier this year, and received the Pat Ayars Mentoring Award for her dedication to providing both formal and informal mentorship to the next generation of professionals. Ms. Kalcik is also a previous honoree of WBJ's Women Who Lead Legal (2021). She has participated in other WBJ Career Women events, discussing how professionals can approach salary negotiations in the workplace, and personal development in the legal field.  

You can read the full WBJ article here (subscription may be required). 

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