Abstract
Early childhood educators have one of the most important roles in society, helping the youngest generation flourish, yet educators earn some of the lowest wages. Given their disparate financial value, educators have unsurprisingly reported high stress. Educators' high stress and low wages may affect their health, workplace turnover, and children's development. Here, we observed whether natural wage increases were associated with reduced stress in educators during the 2021-2022 academic year. Across two time points (TPs), 67 center-based educators of children 0-5 years old completed surveys on their wages and psychological stress (perceived stress, depression, and anxiety). Fifty educators provided hair cortisol concentration to represent chronic physiological stress. Over about three months, educators received a mean wage increase of $1.85/hour. Before the wage increase, minoritized educators earned about $1.50 less than White educators, but earnings were more similar at the second TP. Educators' depression at the start of the academic year was related to their next three months' of physiological stress. Over time, educators' stress remained high and was unassociated with wage changes. Our results suggest a concentrated examination into eliminating wage inequities and reducing the stress of educators. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10643-024-01666-0.