What's Up With Take Our Daughters & Sons To Work Day This Year?

For many kids, Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day is an opportunity to learn what their parents and caregivers do, explore new career options, and demystify the workplace. (And woo hoo, it’s also a day off from school, too.) This year, though, the world (and the workplace) sure are looking a lot different, and bringing kids to work just might not be an option. Still, it’s good to know when Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day 2020 is happening, even if it means celebrating in an entirely new — and remote — way.

So, Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day (TODASTW) 2020 was originally supposed to be on Thursday, April 23. But due to an abundance of concern for the health safety of all participants, the Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Foundation has decided to postpone its planned celebration until a later (and as yet to be determined) date in 2020. This means that as of right now, the question of when the TODASTW event will occur is really up in the air.

And that’s a shame, since an estimated 3.5 million employers are (or were) planning to participate in Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day. According to the site, TODASTW was designed as a way for parents and caregivers to give a glimpse into their professional work lives and inspire young children to dream of a career without compromise. Its goal is to remove gender bias when it comes to the types of work that kids can have and, according to the site, “children learn that a family-friendly work environment is an employer and family issue and not just a woman’s issue.”

Ironically enough, the theme for this year’s TODASTW is Meet The Workplace Superstars. While that honor can certainly be bestowed upon health care, essential, and front line workers, if you’re trying to work from home and homeschool your kids (and, you know, stay sane), that award really belongs to every parent on the planet right about now.

Still, the goal of Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day is about showing kids that work-life balance is attainable, despite any obstacles. So while you might not be able to bring your kiddo to your cubicle, (or sadly, are temporarily unemployed due to the pandemic) you can still celebrate. You might want to adapt some of the activities in the Coordinator’s Toolkit, which was originally intended for employers to use to make the most of the day. For example, you can make a Happiness Mini Quilt with your child where you both draw what makes you happy (natch, the goal being that happiness doesn’t have much to do with money or status). Or you can play Guess Who, where your child can try to figure out what people’s roles are professionally and personally so that they’re challenged to think beyond gender stereotypes.

This year, you’ll just have to make Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day work for you. Because at this point, no one is going to blink an eye if your son sprints across the screen dressed as Superman during your Zoom meeting. No one.