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MOTHERS is a netroots community of mothers and other family caregivers who look after children or other dependent family members.
We promote social change to enchance the economic security of those who do carework, both exclusively or in conjunction with paid employment.
Click here to learn more…
MOTHERS BREAKING NEWS
February 22, 2010: The Problem with Maternity Leave...: is that women take it. If men insisted on a period of paid leave when a child was born or adopted, the whole family leave conversation would be radically different. While a mother's wish to be close to her child is seen as completely normal, a father's wish for the same can put him in a different light. The Wall Street Journal, surprisingly, posted this piece.
February 22, 2010: Tax Time Looms: As a result of the stimulus plan, more tax credits are available to more families this year. The National Women's Law Center has information here. Every year, taxpayers leave millions of dollars to which they are entitled unclaimed in their tax returns. Are you sure you know if you are eligible or not?
February 22, 2010: The Economics of Marriage: Marriage, like so many other things, has changed significantly in the past few decades. People marry later in life, wives are as educated as their husbands, and the gap between the earnings of married partners has narrowed. What this means for economic decisions in the home and policy decisions in a larger context is the subject of a riveting radio discussion. You can listen on your computer here.
February 19, 2010: The Recession, Men, Women, Work, and Staying Home:The economic hard times persist and force change on the home front. More women continue to work or leave home to start working (for money, outside the home, as opposed to the uncompensated labor they do inside the home). More fathers are out of the paid work force and finding themselves more engaged on the front line of housework and childcare. It's a fascinating time to be looking at these shifts, and what they reveal about carework. Two recent articles are worth reading. One from the Washington Post, about families adjusting to mothers going to work:
Magazine became part of the decline in the ranks of stay-at-home moms, whose numbers have fallen from 5.3 million in 2007 to 5.1 million in 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. There was no statistically significant difference in the number of stay-at-home dads.
One from a recent New York Times blog, about fathers not being encouraged to pursue fulltime fatherhood:
In the grand sweep of American lifestyle choices, stay-at-home fatherhood is possibly the only one that doesn’t get eulogized in our popular culture.
February 10, 2010: No Getting Around the Maternal Wall: Having it all...redefining success...the work life balance...if this sounds like lip service to some sort of nirvana, or holy grail, I'm with you, sister. Perhaps we cling to one common hope. Surely, somewhere, someone has figured it out. Or maybe you believe you could figure it out, if there were only more money/time/help/sharing of the housework. Or ...maybe not.
Cheer up - better educated, richer, more talented, and privileged women than you have tried...and failed. The Rhodes Scholarship Program, which sends exceedingly gifted students to Oxford University in England, began admitting women just over 30 years ago. Now, supposedly in the full flower of their talent and training, these women report quite a few thorns amongst the roses. Research indicates that US Rhodes alumnae experience frustration with their professional and home lives, as most women with children do. Dr. Ann Olivarius, founder of the Rhodes Project and a Rhodes Scholar herself, writes:
What I think will be of particular interest -- if no particular surprise --are the inequalities (both at home and at the workplace) that Rhodes mothers face: 81% of Rhodes mothers said they had "limited or turned down career opportunities because of their children" while only 43% of their (mostly male) partners had. At the same time, 48% of the women said they did not spend as much time with their children as they wished. Finally, 48% said they found it harder to get promoted or recognized at work because they were female, and 40% said they felt that way specifically because they had children.
This is a project worth following, and we will. The "maternal wall" apparently doesn't recognize class or educational status. If the smartest, best educated women in America can't make it work, the problem, it would seem, lies not with American women, but with America.
February 10, 2010: Carework is Unskilled Labor: It's not a news flash that women in the direct care, home care, or health aide field are poorly paid. Perpetuating the misconception that carework is unskilled labor these employees are not protected by the usual labor laws, such as minimum wage, overtime pay, etc. A technical legal distinction, classifying them as "companions" rather than workers, is responsible. Both the US Department of Labor and the US Congress have the power to make this change. Neither has chosen to address this unfair and exploitive instance of discrimination, according to a recent New York Times article:
Like Ms. Coke, who was born in Jamaica, home care workers are often immigrants. Most are women, minorities and earn a low income. They are not mere companions. They typically help to feed, dress and move their elderly and disabled clients, plus keep house. Home care also is one of the nation’s fastest-growing occupations. Currently numbering around two million, they are among the lowest-paid and most-exploited in the work force.
Feed, dress, move, clean, care, help....sounds like mothering, also regarded as unskilled labor. Coincidence?
February 09, 2010: FY 2011 Budget Reflects Women's Interests:The White House's discretionary spending freeze is not going to hit a number of programs dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls. In fact, some of them received small increases rather than cuts. This is good news for female athletes, teens at risk of getting pregnant, those impacted by domestic violence, and others.
February 09, 2010: Britain Expands Paid Leave to Fathers: Encouraging states to consider paid leave programs with funding in the FY2011 budget is a good step. But we'll have a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the world. Recently, Britain expanded its paid leave policy to new fathers, offering them 3 months paid, and three additional months unpaid. American parents continue to do without something regarded as a basic right in the rest of the world, like health care.
February 09, 2010: Family Responsibility Discrimination in Chicago: Dena Lockwood worked for two years selling medical services. She never missed a sales target or received any criticism. One day, she asked to stay home with one of her two children, who had contracted pink eye. She was summarily fired, then found out she had been paid less and received a lower commission than her colleagues without children, who easily arranged to stay home and meet the plumber or attend to other occasional emergencies. She filed the first suit in the Chicago Commission for Human Rights under a local Chicago law prohibiting discrimination against those with family caregiving responsibilities, and she won.
February 01, 2010: Hilda Solis FY2011 Budget:Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor, announced a request for $50 million in funding for the US DOL's 2011 budget to give grant money to states to initiate paid leave programs for workers needing to care for a seriously ill child, spouse or parent, or bond with new or newly adopted baby. This program will reinforce job retention by keeping workers connected to the paid labor force, and keep them on a career path to the middle class. Paid leave would benefit millions of American workers, especially those who bear a disproportionate share of family carework, who are not eligible under current law, or who cannot afford to take unpaid leave.
January 25, 2010:The Stimulus Plan, Tax Credits, and Women: It's no surprise that women-headed households have higher rates of poverty. The rate could go as high as 46% for 2009 because of increased unemployment caused by the current recession. The stimulus plan is designed to provide some relief by making the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit available to more women and families working and supporting their children. If you didn't qualify before, it's worth looking again. It's easier to be eligible, and the amount of the benefit may be larger. These changes expire at the end of 2010, though, because the stimulus plan is intended as a temporary fix to (what is hoped to be) a temporary problem. The National Women's Law Center has more information here.
January 22, 2010: Michelle Obama Promotes Work/Family Policies: Mrs. Obama continues to make the rounds of all the federal agencies in Washignton and talk to employees, most recently appearing at the Department of Labor. She specifically noted the need for paid family leave, paid sick days, flexibility and access to affordable child care. Drawing on her experiences before assuming the role of First Lady, Mrs. Obama acknowleged the tension between the roles of worker and caregiver, and how conflict and guilt can undermine one's performance in both places.
January 22, 2010: Pregnant at Work: More women in the workforce means more pregnant women on the job. In 2008, 61% of all expectant or new mothers were getting a paycheck. How will the workplace cope? It's a very mixed bag, according to the Wall Street Journal.
January 21, 2010:The Three-Minute Interview - Allison Stevens, Journalist: Allison Stevens is a writer in Washington D.C. She has a new baby, her second, and will soon have a new blog on Women's eNews, too. Lately, she's been multitasking, juggling writing with breastfeeding, often simultaneously. We spoke about mothering and work for this month's Three Minute Interview.
January 12, 2010:The Motherhood Penalty: The research is starting to pile up. Eight years after publication of MOTHERS founder Ann Crittenden's "The Price of Motherhood", more evidence of the unfair treatment of women with children is being studied. Social scientist In Paik discusses the unequal treatment experienced by women with children, as opposed to childless women, childless men, and men with children. Fascinating facts emerge, such as women earn about 5% less per child than other workers, controlling for education and other employment factors. Mothers in the workplace are regarded as less competent, less dependable, less authoritative, less committed, but more approachable and likeable than non-mothers. The discrimination arises from tension between our cultural attitudes towards mothers and those towards "ideal" workers. Read an interview with Paik about the discrimination revealed in her laboratory experiments and research here.
January 12, 2010: Note to Self: Request Flexible Schedule:Do your New Year's resolutions include asking for an alternative work schedule? To prepare, the Women's Bureau at the US Department of Labor offers information, newsletters, and a slew of good arguments you can use in bringing a flex option proposal to your employer. Check it out and be confident.
January 12, 2010: We Could Do It Differently: As the debate swirling around health care reform has revealed, other countries provide their citizens with medical care in a variety of different ways, almost all at a lower cost than ours, and with better outcomes. The implications of the path we choose, however, will affect the lives of women in a more dramatic way, because women do more of the work of looking after family members. In this recent article from the Washington Post, an American compares notes with her Scottish and French friends all of whom are caring for their aging mothers.
I am struck by all that Fiona's mum and Juliette's maman can take for granted. They enjoy access to services far beyond free and full medical and prescription drug coverage. In England, my mother's $5,800 hearing aid would have been free. While Mum and Maman get house calls from their doctors and cash compensation for family members who care for them, I often had to take time off from work -- an expensive proposition for a self-employed psychologist and writer -- to help Mom. Taking her back and forth to her medical appointments ate up entire days and, with her disabilities, she could barely get in and out of my car. This was hard work, not quality time with an aging parent.
You will find the whole article here.
January 08, 2010: Hidden Costs of Being Female: The health care debate in Washington recently revealed that women are routinely charged more for insurance coverage. Apparently, the gender price gap doesn't stop there. Comparisons of razors, body wash, haircuts, moisturizers, and other products marketed to women can cost up to 50% more than comparable products designed for men, even when made by the same manufacturer.
If that were the end or it, I'd put down my pencil and stop taking notes. But there's more. Women are significantly more likely to carry subprime mortgages than men with similar income, which means their higher interest rates ratchet up the price of the loan by thousands of dollars a year. So, from drug store purchases, to dry cleaning bills, car loans, mortgages, and insurance coverage, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that gender discrimination continues to exist acrosst the board. When women earn less than men, pay more for a vast range of products and services, and when women with children have a harder job getting hired and are paid less than childless women as well as fathers - well, you wonder why we continue to allow ourselves to be devalued and manipulated.
December 17, 2009:Could the Recession Actually Be Good for Families?: If fathers are laid off, will they do more to run the house and raise the children? Will more time together bring families closer? It's worth thinking about. This Newsweek article notes the continuing hurdles women face at work, and explores the recession's possible effects.
When a working father takes time off to watch a ballet recital, he's seen as noble. When a working mother rushes out of the office to care for a case of head lice, she's more likely to be labeled undependable. Mothers looking for work are less likely to be hired, are offered lower salaries, and are perceived to be less committed than fathers or women without children, according to a 2005 report by Shelley Correll, now an associate professor of sociology at Stanford University. And according to a 2007 survey by Elle/MSNBC.com, female bosses are twice as likely than their male counterparts to be seen as having family obligations interfere with work.
Does this ring true, or do you have a different experience? We'd like to know.
December 16, 2009: Will Federal Employees Get Paid Parental Leave?: The federal government employs a great many people all over the country. They need employees with a vast range of backgrounds, training, skills and experience in a huge array of different functions. Because of the looming retirement of so many baby boomers, the federal workforce will soon be diminishing and must compete with higher paying private sector employers for far fewer and far younger workers. The government's strategy is to offer better workplace policies as it can't compete with the private sector compensation levels. Sure, the message goes, you could make more money, but your quality of life will be better with federal holidays, flexible scheduling, access to health insurance and pension programs, paid sick leave, paid vacation, and soon, legislators hope, paid parental leave. To attract younger men and women who may not have accrued enough paid time off to welcome and adjust to a newly born or adopted baby, a bill now in Congress would give four weeks paid parental leave. If the bill is successsful, the federal government would be the biggest employer in the country offering this benefit. Find out more here.
December 16, 2009: Women In Public Office - Why It Matters: Women with children pay a huge price - the time and energy we devote to our families in myriad ways prevents us from being able to engage in the kinds of activities which could strengthen the public role we play. Informing ourselves about state, local, and national matters may not be on the "To Do" list. Getting active, expressing ourselves as citizens, finding the lawmakers pushing for the policies we need may not be on it either. Actually running for office and getting elected, then serving your term - well, for most, a hazy, far-off dream. The tragedy of the consuming reality of family carework is that it stops more women from doing just the things that would improve the effectiveness and economic security of the caregiver. Yet everybody knows that it matters when women are at the table. Read Linda Lowen on "Why Do We Need More Women in Government? Here's Why"
December 15, 2009: It's Not Over 'Til...:So you think your heavy-duty caregiving days are over when the last one goes off to kindergarten? Or your baby starts high school? Or moves into that college dorm? Think again! The object of your attention may change, but the carework will continue. About 66 million Americans are looking after an elderly, sick or disabled family member. (This number does not include the number of women and men are who are taking care of their own children.) The typical family caregiver, according to a recent survey by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, is a 49-year-old woman employed outside the home who spends an additional 19 hours per week caring for a parent, spouse, or other relative. Along with all the upsides (and we know there are many), caregivers frequently cut their hours, seek less demanding (and less lucrative) positions, sacrifice their health, increase their stress, take time off and/or miss work. The same policies that support women with children will support all those who do family carework - and it will be more and more of us, for a long time to come. You'd think that seeing this looming need draw ever closer would lead to practical public policy initiatives like paid leave, paid sick days, flexible schedules, part-time worker parity. But you'd be wrong. I sure hope good practices are in place by the time I get old and I need someone to look after me.....
December 13, 2009: 2009 in the Rear View Mirror: What significant events occurred this year in the field of work/life practices? From President Obama's signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to the H1N1 epidemic, with a recession in between, read the rundown from WorkLife Nation here.
December 13, 2009: She Blinded Me with Science:The two American Nobel prize winners in medicine, both women, stated that structure of careers in the sciences prevents many women from progressing in the field. Men and women start out in roughly equal numbers, but women will take breaks or seek more flexible arrangements or part-time work, for childbearing and family reasons, which interfere with their advancement. Elizabeth H. Blackburn and Carol W. Greider noted that the career structure works for men, but not for women. The science and research undertaken by women, however, is not affected in quality by their work patterns.
December 13, 2009: Women At the Top? Not Really!:For those who think gender equity has been achieved and we can all go home and call it a day, we have some chilling news. Women are only 6.3% of corporate top earners, and only occupy 15.2% of seats on the boards of directors in Fortune 500 companies. That works out to a ratio 6 men to 1 woman around that conference room table. Yet, women are earning more than half of all Masters degrees in Business Administration, and those companies with women in policy-making positions tend to post higher profits.
November 19, 2009: Women and the Labor Movement: More women have joined labor unions. In 1983, women were 35% of organized labor. In 2008, they comprised 45%, and if this growth rate continues, by 2020 women will outnumber men in unions across the country. Union workers have more education now than ever before, with 1/3 possessing four year college degrees. As women have surpassed men in education generally, so they have also in unions, where half of women have four-year degrees. In fact, the more advanced the education, the greater the likelihood of union membership, which is totally the reverse of the historical data. Does the increase in women's membership change the agenda? Definitely - childcare, workplace flexibility, paid leave, and sick days are now issues, as is higher insurance costs for women. This increases labor's power as well, because union voters are about 25% of the electorate. The fastest growing sector of new voters is comprised of women and minorities - who increasingly influence the labor movement. More diversity, more women, and more education. More political clout. It's all good.
The one-pager from the Center for Economic Policy Research.
The AP News Service story is here.
November 19, 2009: US Failing Its Mothers and Children: My mother always said, you can tell what a country values by how it spends its money. Okay, she never actually said that, but it is still true. In 2005, the latest year for which data is available, the US ranked 30th in the world in infant mortality. In 1960, the US occupied 12th place, a drop of 18 slots in 35 years. Countries ranking better include most all of Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Israel. In terms of numbers, the US sees an average of 6.86 infant deaths per 1000 births. The best countries, with a rate of 3 infant deaths or lower per 1000, are Sweden, Finland, and in East Asia. It makes you wonder if we really do have the best health care delivery system in the world.....
November 17, 2009: Do You Have Paid Sick Leave?: Fifty million working American's don't. This makes dealing with swine flu more complicated than just trying to get better. This article explains how different workplaces confront the issue. With no national standard, it's pretty much a crapshoot how you might fare.
November 17, 2009: It's the Carework - Again!: Women are earning more advanced degrees in the sciences, and in some specialties just as many as men. Yet they leave the field in greater numbers and much earlier than men. Now we know why - carework. Women with children are less likely to enter a tenure track position, and if they do, are significantly less likely to actually obtain tenure. By contrast, married men with children, and childless women, demonstrate about the same rate of sticking to their career track. Losing these highly educated and specialized scientists sounds an ominous bell for the future candidate pool of top researchers, and the continued status of the US as a global scientific leader. Our lack of effective work/live policies may cost us our ability to compete.
November 17, 2009: Sex Discrimination Is One Thing - Gender Bias Is Something Else:
It's a two way street. Women with children hit the maternal wall, when bosses assume they don't want heftier assignments or projects with travel, and their careers stall. Men with children get hassled if it becomes known that they plan to take parental leave for caregiving work at home. Both men and women find assumptions based on gender affect expectations and evaluations at work. It's subtle, it's stealthy, and it's not fair or legal. The Center for WorkLife Law has devised a board game to show all the nuances involved and help you to spot it when it happens.
Noted economist Nancy Folbre blogs about it in the New York Times here.
You can get right to the game itself here.
October 29, 2009: Three Minute Interview with Ginger Garner: This Mother, Educator, Author, Blogger, Physical Therapist and Yoga Practitioner Talks About Childbirth in America, and Why It Needs to Change.
October 23, 2009:Michelle Obama on Women and Health Reform
October 20, 2009: You Heard It Here First:Women have more at stake in health care reform than men do. We've beaten the drum loudly on that these past few weeks. Now our friends at the National Women's Law Center have put together a video as part of a campaign to raise women's awareness. You can watch it right here on your computer.
October 20, 2009: "A Woman's Nation" - Good News, or Bad? : Lots of buzz this week surrounding women now making up half the paid labor force, because the recession has taken more men out of work, and because families need the money women earn. But is that the whole story? The wide view, from journalist Bonnie Erbe:
October 15, 2009: Three Minute Interview with Kristin Maschka:Advocacy Coordinator Valerie Young caught author Kristin Maschka during her current coast to coast book tour, introducing "This Is Not How I Thought It Would Be: Remodeling Motherhood to Get the Lives We Want Now." Kristin talks about the unexpected aftermath she encountered after becoming a mother, and offers suggestions and insights for your own transition in our 3 minute interview.
October 9, 2009: Video: Women Senators take the floor and slam gender discirmination in current health care system.
October 7, 2009: Nobel Prize Winner is a Mother:Two of the three winners of this year's Nobel Prize for Medicine are women. One of them, microbiologist and mother Elizabeth Blackburn, talks about her work, her family, mother stereotypes, and the often messy way it all comes together.
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