The holidays are upon us, and more than ever the burgeoning influencer economy is having an impact on what consumers buy. Few reliable statistics can be found concerning the influencer profession, but several studies suggest the industry is dominated by women in their homes selling products related to the personal brand each has cultivated.

Look beyond the slick production, and you'll notice a 70-year-old hole in the labor market. That influencer selling skin cream is just another in a long line of women revealing the depth and breadth of policy failure when it comes to fostering high quality part-time work. As a result, women and their families are hurt financially, having few opportunities to earn an income from traditional sources of employment. Which is why many try to give influencing a go.

If the U.S. wants more workers, higher incomes and more tax revenue, this failure in policy needs to be rectified. And it is a failure. In 1990, the U.S. was a global leader in female labor force participation. It has been a laggard since, with the labor force participation rate for women between the ages of 25 and 54 at less than 80%.

Economists conducted a sort of forensic accounting of the economy and policy to understand what happened in the U.S. in that period and the answer was ... nothing! America's peers, on the other hand, enacted a suite of policies to support working parents that proved a boon to women, like paid family leave and child-care subsidies.

But the key was the elevation and protection of part-time work through right-to-work policies and greater protection against discrimination for part-time workers in pay, promotions and firings. The economists did find that a similar part-time policy in the U.S. would lead to an increase of working women.

Part-time work can be found in the U.S., but it is dominated by low-wage shift work in the service sector, where hours are not guaranteed or regular, most workers are not offered health or retirement benefits or paid sick days, and paid holidays are uncommon while wage theft is more common than in other industries.

Little wonder making videos for platforms that garner remuneration through views, sponsored product placements and affiliate commissions sounds attractive.

It could be that influencers are genuinely motivated by the brands they are hawking, but many of them also want to earn income for their families and have few alternatives that meet their needs. These women are in control, they have dignity and autonomy, and they can earn money and parent without conflict.

The reality is that women who want to hold regular jobs may struggle with full-time hours. Many women want part-time work while their children are young or while their parents are at the end of their lives but the flexibility to return to full-time work when they can. They need a "bridge."

The right to work part time is such a bridge. Let workers who have been employed with a specific employer for a period of time, say one year, request a drop in hours down to as few as 20 per week with a commensurate cut to wages. The law would require employers to comply or show why they can't comply, and workers to meet a timeline for return to full-time, say within five years.

There will always be influencers, but they shouldn't be the Band-Aid on failed policy when policy can solve the problem.