MomsRising.org
"Why are there so few women in leadership, and so many in poverty? We propose the following common sense ways to protect mothers and families:
M Maternity/Paternity Leave - Paid family leave for parents with new children.
O Open Flexible Work - Work that allows for both work and family needs.
T TV We Choose & Other After-School Programs - Programs that are GOOD for kids.
H Healthcare for All Kids - Provide quality, universal healthcare to all children.
E Excellent Childcare - Quality, affordable childcare available to all who need it.
R Realistic & Fair Wages - Living wages for mothers and equal pay for equal work.
"To have a vibrant future we must invest in our children. The best way to ensure children are well cared for is to support their mothers."
This is a great online community. It's not just for moms, but a group which advocates for families . . . There should be more of those, don't you think? They are working to change the political agenda to focus more on the problems faced by and provide more support of families. Afterall, strong families raise positive, creative adults who will eventually be responsible for taking care of all of us when we're old and grey.
I've read an excerpt from their agenda and plan on purchasing the book once I get caught up on the stack I already have waiting for me on the shelf :) They have a lot of important things to say and some great ideas for solutions to real problems faced by real people.
So check out the site (http://www.momsrising.org) and let me know what you think.
posted by Nancy @ 8:54 PM
4 Talk Back
4 Comments:
As a woman I can agree with all your comments, as a person though with responsibility for staffing - we as women are starting to score own goals in the UK with the rules as they stand. It is getting to the point where women (myself included) are becoming unemployable as we always have responsibility for somebody (ie children, parents and then older husbands - in my case now also a disabled son). The prejudice therefore is becoming purely economic based, and I feel a hypocrite the majority of the time.
I don't know what the answer is - but if we have so much responsibility - shouldn't we be ruling the world and calling the shots?
We should be calling the shots, but we're too busy taking care of everyone else to do it! :)
I hear what you're saying about mothers being almost unemployable, but they're only perceived that way because of the current "rules" of employment. That's why I like this group a lot. Their big push is for more jobs with "flex-time" where if you don't have to physically be there at certain hours (office jobs as opposed to say someone who works in a shop obviously) or maybe you can put in 10 hours one day and six on another . . . allowing that kind of flexibility helps mothers and in turn will affect their jobs in a positive way. They say that where flex-time is an option productivity has improved. Kind of like the way Europeans enjoy more vacations than Americans, and often Europeans get more done even with the extra time off.
I just think it's time to try something else. The system that is in place does make mothers almost unemployable and that isn't right. I mean, just in your small corner of the world, the people you come into direct contact with, think of how many working women are also mothers. If we all stopped tomorrow there would be an awful lot of work that didn't get done!
So we have some power in that sense and it's time to make some demands with it. (And you're right, it's all a question of economics, so like everything else these days - which is a completely different blog entry for another time - but making comprises with and utilizing new ideas in aiding working mothers doesn't have to have a negative economic impact.)
Thanks for your comment!
I had to take a long hard look at "me" when I thought about going part-time recently to care for Toby. With my other hat on as an employer - I wouldn't employ me - as nobody could count on me being in the office when the grief hit, so why should anybody else?
Sad fact of life, which only attitudes and perception along with tolerance can change, and no amount of legislation will do it in this Country.
I fought and compaigned for equality and parity in the workplace, now I have got it I guess I have to live with it....
ah well - there is always tomorrow :-)
hugs Shani
I forgot to mention I work in a medium sized Law Firm, which is office-based, and we do have to be there at fixed hours, as that is the expectation of our clients. In a shop/hospital environment shiftwork seems more sustainable.
I also agree that without the mothers, no work would be done - that is very noticeable - we are the only ones who seem to "own" a problem and get it sorted.
Hey ho... a writer's life for me...
hugs again. Shani
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