Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day 2027 is on Thursday

About Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

The day gives young people a close look at real jobs: the tasks, the tools, the colleagues and the balance between work and family life. Employers that take part often plan activities, tours and question sessions so children do more than sit beside a desk, and the program has always aimed to reach kids whose own parents or guardians cannot bring them to work.

It started as Take Our Daughters to Work Day. In 1992 the Ms. Foundation for Women in New York, led by president Marie C. Wilson and co-founded by Gloria Steinem, looked at research on girls losing self-confidence in adolescence and designed a day to show girls what working life could hold for them. The first national event was held on April 22, 1993, after Parade magazine publicized the idea. Organizers fixed it to the fourth Thursday in April so that children could go back to school on Friday and talk about what they had learned.

Around the program's 10th anniversary in 2002, organizers decided boys would benefit too, and the day took its current name. In 2007 the program moved to a new nonprofit, the Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Foundation, based in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, with Carolyn McKecuen as president. The House of Representatives passed resolutions in 2010 recognizing the fourth Thursday of April for the years 2010 through 2014, and the White House has hosted children of its staff on the day.

In 2024 Junior Achievement acquired the event and rebranded it as Take a Child to Work Day and Beyond, reflecting both the everyday name most people use and the goal of keeping career conversations going after the day itself. It is not a public holiday; children usually need permission from their school to attend.

Sources: Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Foundation: About, with program history (archived March 2019), Junior Achievement: Take a Child to Work Day and Beyond, About, Take a Child to Work Day and Beyond (Junior Achievement): 2026 date. How we check dates.

How to mark Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

• Check your employer's policy, then ask your manager whether you can bring your child or a young relative for part of the day.
• Plan a short schedule with a tour, a hands-on task and time to meet colleagues in different roles.
• Arrange the absence with your child's school ahead of time and ask whether they need a short report afterward.
• If you can't bring a child to work, invite a mentee or volunteer to talk about your job at a local school or youth program.
• At dinner, ask your child what surprised them and what job they might like to try next.
• Organize a virtual workplace tour for children who can't attend in person.

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day dates