---
title: "WSJ: Women’s Return to the Workforce Sees Lightbridge Academy Increase in Enrollment and Applications"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/59fdba3d-ee46-4ff6-80fb-f2a58cd25ba7
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/wsj-womens-return-to-the-workforce-sees-lightbridge-academy-increase-in-enrollment-and-applications-2722117
category: "Childcare & early learning"
industry: "Education & Childcare"
segment: "Childcare & early learning"
published: 2023-04-26T16:11:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T01:11:20.396Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/2cf724858c3ecd4e4010cee9aa10f5c73425.jpg
---

# WSJ: Women’s Return to the Workforce Sees Lightbridge Academy Increase in Enrollment and Applications

**TL;DR:** Women's return to the workforce is fueling economic growth, with women gaining more jobs than men for four consecutive months. Lightbridge Academy has seen a steady increase in enrollment and a 50% increase in teaching job applications as more mothers return to work.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2023-04-26. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/wsj-womens-return-to-the-workforce-sees-lightbridge-academy-increase-in-enrollment-and-applications-2722117).*

## Story

American women are returning to the workforce, helping to fuel economic growth amidst high inflation and rising interest rates, according to a recent article published in The Wall Street Journal.

For four consecutive months, women have gained more jobs than men, holding over 49.8% of all nonfarm jobs. Factors such as higher pay, remote work adoption and financial pressures are encouraging more women to seek employment. Women now hold 66% of jobs in the leisure, hospitality, private education, health and other services sectors. The recent labor-force recovery has been particularly significant among mothers, with the share of mothers with school-age children employed or seeking work surpassing January 2020 levels.

Lightbridge Academy® CEO Gigi Schweikert told WSJ that the early childhood education and child care franchise has seen a steady increase in enrollment over the past few months as more mothers return to the workforce. Additionally, applications for teaching jobs at Lightbridge Academy are up about 50% from 2020 and the first few months of 2021, when labor shortages resulted in shortened hours.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Education & Childcare (sector)
- Gigi Schweikert (person)
- labor market (topic)
- child care industry (topic)
- workforce trends (topic)
- enrollment growth (topic)
- women in workforce (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/wsj-womens-return-to-the-workforce-sees-lightbridge-academy-increase-in-enrollment-and-applications-2722117). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/59fdba3d-ee46-4ff6-80fb-f2a58cd25ba7).