Brush Stroke
November 20, 2012
     
Greetings! 
    
As we approach the Thanksgiving holidays we send our thoughts to all those impacted by the recent hurricane on the east coast. The NAMC thanks all first responders and friends and neighbors who continue to step up to help. The NAMC also wishes to thank all of our eNews subscribers for their continued support of our work to advocate for mothers, caregivers and families. Plus, thanks to the women and men who voted more women in to our government offices.
 
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The National Association of Mothers' Centers (NAMC) provides programs that empower mothers, fathers and caregivers to find solutions that work for their families, their work lives and their personal lives.
 Dispatch 
Dc Dispatch
 

When women govern, they broaden the agenda, setting which problems to address, and expand the range of possible solutions, according to Vitamin W's recent article, More Bang for Your Ballot? Vote for Women.  They have established that they can equal men in campaign fundraising, and can get themselves elected just as often when they do run.  Women legislators also tend to introduce more bills, co-sponsor their colleagues bills, and work more cooperatively to pass legislation than men.  Surprisingly, they also win more federal dollars for their districts by a margin of 9%, which works out to around $49 million a year, not an insignificant sum!  Women promote the interests of minorities and under-represented groups, and favor greater disclosure of congressional proceedings.   Without including women in the crafting of public policy, half the talent, half the solutions, and half the citizenry are missing.

 

As stated in More Bang for Your Ballot?:

 

The point isn't that women legislators are better. The point is that they are different and that difference adds value. Women broaden the institutional view, deepen the well of collective experience and, by their very presence, challenge the status quo.

 

So best of luck to all the congresswomen and congressmen who are sworn in to the 113th Congress.  Vive la diff�rence!!

WorthLessWhy Are Women Worth Less?

 

Women earn less than men, and this is one reason our poverty rate is much higher.  Many commentators explain the gender pay gap by pointing to women's "choices" of jobs in lower-paying fields, less-demanding work, part-time work, or work that allows them to fulfill domestic and/or child care obligations.  There is no more discrimination at work, they say, and if women worked as long and as hard as men, they'd make just the same.  My friends at the American Association of University Women have tested this theory and found it false by comparing men's and women's earnings at the beginning of their working lives, before children and "lifestyle choices" have an impact.  Their conclusion? Discrimination against women in the workplace continues.  You can read a summary on the National Women's Law Center blog and view the video of the CNN report.

 

Paid Family Leave - 

We're Already Paying For Not Having Itparenting

 

You know it's gonna happen - people get sick, people get old, people have children.  It's happening now, and it increases costs, even though family leave insurance is not the official policy.  Cali Williams Yost writes a very persuasive essay in Forbes.  An excerpt:

 

In the U.S., we pride ourselves on our capitalistic, profit-oriented savvy; therefore, given the growing magnitude of employee caregiving realities, you would assume that employers would support a clear, consistent uniform strategic response. One that minimized business disruption and kept employees engaged and productive over the long-term. Unfortunately, the reality is the exact opposite.

 

Far from being a tax, job-killing or anti-business, paid family leave boosts the bottom line.  It doesn't make sense not to have it.

InterviewThree Minute Interview with Jessica DeGroot, Founder and President of ThirdPath Institute

 

We've all said from time to time, "There's got to be a better way!" Between work and home and everything else, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and totally stressed by the expectations we place on ourselves and the unrealistic demands of modern life. Jessica DeGroot believes she has a better way, the so-called "third path" that puts family and personal time on a more integrated footing with work. We chatted via email, and this is what she had to say: 

 

1. ThirdPath's motto is "Creating Time for Life". How can that be done?

Instead of adding care giving responsibilities to a job that is already demanding too much of you, ThirdPath helps care givers look for "win-win" flexibility so they can succeed in both work and the important job of care giving. We also encourage care givers to create a partnership at home. When mothers and fathers (or extended family) share in the joys and responsibilities of providing care it creates stronger families and more support for care givers. Lastly, another critical ingredient to success is learning how to say no - both at work and at home; Read more.

 

family of color Men and women rarely fall neatly into entirely separate domains.  For better and for worse, we will succeed and fail together.  An increase in women's engagement and leadership requires teaching both our sons and our daughters about the exercise of power in the world they will inherit.  From the Harvard Business Review's blog:

 

Contrary to more recent provocative media coverage, the changing roles of women at work and men at home do not signal the rise of the former at the expense of the latter. The trends are far more nuanced. The couples in these studies seemed to be trying to divide bread-winner and caregiver duties between them, moving well beyond the norms of past decades. Indeed, fathers and mothers now face many of the same struggles at work and at home.

 

Caregiving does not belong to a single gender.  Sexy titles foretelling the end of men and the dominance of women might sell books  - but cross-training for both work at work and the work of the home is a more realistic strategy.

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