Arifa Ibrahim says she’s always considered herself “very career oriented” and never thought she’d leave the workforce of her own accord. Then, she encountered the challenges of being a working mom in the U.S.
Ibrahim is one of some 455,000 women who left the workforce between January and August of 2025, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data and reported by CNN.
In May, Ibrahim quit her job as an activity coordinator for a private preschool where she’d worked for four years, including while raising her 5-year-old son and after giving birth to her second son, now 2.
She realized what she earned on the job barely covered gas for her work commute, the $400 monthly preschool tuition for her older son (a discounted rate for employees, she says), and the estimated $1,000 monthly day care costs for her younger son, should she enroll him.
“I don’t think our system supports working mothers right now,” Ibrahim, 33, of the Chicago area, tells CNBC Make It.
