| Asking for Some
Feedback: |
|
How Do You Feel About MOTHERS?
We're asking for feedback on our Empowerment Agenda.
Also, what other issues do you think MOTHERS
should support?
Send an email TODAY to MOTHERS@motherscenter.org
and speak your mind. |
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| MOTHERS Book Bag
Mothers on the Fast Track |
 |
Why are so many women falling off the fast
track? Is this what happens when they "opt-out" or go for a
second-tier job to accommodate pregnancy and raising a
family?
In "Mothers on the Fast Track: How a New
Generation Can Balance Family and Careers," author
Mary Ann Mason has written a guide for young
women who are facing the tough decision of when - and if - to
start a family. It's also a guide for older women seeking a
second chance to break through to the next level.
Visit us at MOTHERS Book
Bag and join us on the Mothers Fast
Track! | |
Dear MOTHERS
Supporter,
We are working to serve you better so,
while you will get the same great information and
updates, it is being delivered to you in a format that
is easier to read and forward to your friends and
colleagues.
MOTHERS is an
initiative of the National Association
of Mothers' Centers (NAMC). You will
be receiving an introduction to the full breadth
our work shortly. In the meantime, if you have any
questions or comments to share, please contact our
Membership Development
Director, Catherine
Wright.
We look forward to continuing our work
with your support to address the economic well being of
mothers and caregivers in the United
States!
Thank you for your interest
and support!
The Staff at
NAMC | |
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Giving Birth to
MOTHERS 
It was five years ago that a group of
women were heavily pregnant with the idea of forming a
grassroots coalition to create a strong, common voice to
the critical need for economic security and political
clout for mothers and other caregivers.
Then in September 2002, that group of
women came together to birth the
MOTHERS movement at the MOTHERS Leadership
Retreat.
Time has gone by quickly, and changes are
beginning to appear.
There's been the introduction of the
Healthy Families Act and the Balancing Act. The
Todd/Stevens Paid Family Medical Leave
bill was introduced. Cities like San Francisco
and states like Washington have passed paid sick leave
bills. Paid sick leave bill has been introduced in the
DC City Council and the state of New
York.
As elected women like Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi and Senator Hilary Clinton openly talk
about being mothers and grandmothers, the media and our
government are slowly giving creed to mothers' and
caregivers' perspectives and needs.
However, when the coverage is not
satisfactory (the tired old Mommy Wars
rhetoric) MOTHERS is
using these opportunities to write in, call in, and get
people to sign our
petition. We need to take the conversation back and
address the real issues that women face on a day-to-day
basis.
We've spoken nationally and
internationally about these issues at the
Association of Research on Mothering,
NCWO, the International Mothers'
Center conference, and
the DEMOS Women's Leadership Forum.
We'll continue our work by talking at other meetings,
such as the upcoming Carework Conference. This doesn't
count all the speaking engagements of Ann
Crittenden, one of our founding MOTHERS Council
members.
We're fighting the good fight, and would
like to thank our supporters and partners for their
commitment and assistance in whatever ways they have
been able to support this work. By helping
MOTHERS, you increase the strength of
our
efforts. |
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Family & Workplace
Balancing Act of 2007
Update 
If you were to give MOTHERS a birthday
present, we'd love to see the Balancing Act
finally pass.
Since May it's been referred to the Subcommittee on
Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education,
the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities,
and the Subcommittee on Workforce
Protections.
It's a waiting game at the moment. MOTHERS
will keep you updated when we hear anything
new.
To find out if your representative
supports The Balancing Act click
here.
Then contact your representative and tell
them you support the Balancing Act and that they need to
do the
same! |
The US House Gets Family Friendly:
Nancy Pelosi Opens the  First Lactation
Room
Continuing her family-friendly theme,
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has created
a private room in the Cannon Building for congressional
moms to nurse their babies.
"Many women face great challenges in
managing both motherhood and career,"
Pelosi said in a written statement.
Outfitted with a comfy sofa, an in-house phone and a TV
for House viewing, the nursing room will be open 24/7.
MOTHERS wants to know,
why does it take a female Speaker of the House to
realize that lactation rooms are needed in all
workplaces? Not just for the congresswomen, but for
their assistants, and the other women working in the
building!
For more on moms in the House and Senate,
check out "Mom's in the House,
With Kids at Home".
|
Most Mothers Want Part-Time
Work
(See the original Pew Research Center
study at "Fewer Mothers Prefer
Full-time Work".)
All working mothers want flexible work
environments, whether that means part-time work, work
sharing, or telecommuting.
As New York University sociologist
Kathleen Gerson pointed out, the study "says as much
about the increasing pressures on American workers to
put in more time and the lack of supports for parents,
as it does what women
want." |
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NBC
Asks if Moms are Less Useful in the Work
Place
Can you believe that NBC wondered if moms
are less useful when they re-enter the work force? You
can see the discussion on the MSNBC
boards.
To see the original story, go to
"Moms' road back to
work often bumpy - Women often surprised by difficulties
in restarting careers".
MOTHERS wonders, is NBC
firing another salvo in the so-called mommy
wars?
And aren't we tired of the same old
stuff?
Go to our MOTHERS
Forums and start a
conversation. |
|
Volunteer & Help Support
MOTHERS
Join the
MOTHERS team and use your writing, marketing, and/or
public relations skills to work for social
change.
Send us
an email and let
us know how you'd like to help
MOTHERS.
Or
join with us as a financial supporter of
MOTHERS. A donation of $35 or more
will make you a member of the NAMC. Please
DONATE NOW to help build the
movement!
Sincerely,
MOTHERS Staff &
Volunteers | | |
