Chipmakers must offer childcare to tap into semiconductor industry funds

The rules will require companies receiving incentives under the Chips and Science Act, passed last year, to take steps like building daycare centers near new manufacturing facilities or providing money for workers to offset costs over existing local ones Pay options, according to the trade department, which is responsible for the implementation of the law.

Trade Secretary Gina Raimondo has repeatedly spoken out about how a lack of childcare has been keeping people, especially women, from returning to the labor market since the pandemic began in 2020.

President Joe Biden had proposed measures to improve child care as part of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of social spending programs that failed to gain approval in Congress. The government is now trying to use semiconductor legislation to achieve this goal in at least part of the economy. Companies can use part of the funds they receive from the state subsidy program to finance childcare.

Congress passed the law last year after pandemic-related lockdowns and supply chain disruptions undermined US reliance on chips from Asia and particularly Taiwan, the target of frequent threats from China.

While the key objective of the law is to protect national security, in a speech last week Raimondo emphasized the benefits of the law to women in terms of potential jobs in manufacturing and construction.

“We need chip makers, builders and unions to work with us toward the national goal of hiring and training an additional million women in construction over the next decade to meet demand not just for chips but for other industries and infrastructure projects .” She said.

The New York Times previously reported on plans to add child care to the Semiconductor Awards requirements.