With summertime quickly approaching and end-of-school-year obligations looming, it can be difficult for working moms to adjust to new schedules and find a way to accommodate their children.
That’s why a 39-year-old mom of four is going viral for her email signature that tells it like it is — sometimes there isn’t enough time to respond.
Meg St-Esprit of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, posted a screenshot of her new email signature to Twitter after receiving a “snippy” email questioning why she hadn’t yet responded to an email sent just 24 hours prior.
“Some folks who saw my email signature commented on it, so I wanted to share,” she wrote in the Tweet that’s been viewed over 100,600 times.
“Please note I may be slower to respond to email in the months of June, July and August due to the United States’ inability to provide affordable childcare for working mothers,” the email signature bluntly reads.
Some folks who saw my email signature commented on it, so I wanted to share. The US is the only developed nation w/o subsidized childcare. Adding it would increase our GDP over 1 trillion dollars. Not a handout — it’s a smart decision when facing a recession and labor shortages. pic.twitter.com/iZGLMg1PJW
— Meg St-Esprit (@MegStEsprit) May 31, 2023
According to a January 2023 report from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), median annual childcare prices ranged from $4,810 to $15,417 in 2018, which adjusted for inflation in 2022 would be roughly $5,357 to $17,171.
The DOL has called these prices “untenable for families” adding that “child care consumes a large share of family income among those who pay for childcare services.”
Many social media users praised her for taking a stand and offering her grace for trying to work with four young kids.
“Brilliant. I usually do auto responders that say stuff like this,” one woman wrote. “Never thought to use it as a signature. Mind if I steal this?”
“Everyone is feeling this,” St-Esprit told Today. “Everyone wants to be able to know that if you’re at the pool with your kids and you’re planning to work until 11 p.m. that night to catch up — which is what I do — that you don’t have to respond to that email right away.”
St-Esprit currently works as a freelance journalist.
