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Mom-mentum Advocacy eNews
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This summer will be the longest possible, a full 106 days, due to where Memorial Day and Labor Day happen to fall on the calendar. In between the cookouts, the picnics, the road trips and fireworks, women's lives will continue to be impacted by courts, legislatures, and decisions others will be making. Stay informed so you can push back, speak up, and be your own agent of change. That's the American way! Best wishes, Valerie Young Your (Wo)man in Washington |
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 DC DISPATCH - RUN LIKE A GIRL
Our democracy simply requires that everyone be involved, not just as voters, but as elected representatives too. Yet women don't make up even a third of any branch of government. In fact, in terms of women's congressional representation, dozens of countries do better than the US -- including Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Sudan. The Federal Election Commission convened a Forum on Women in Politics in Washington DC earlier this month, and the event was covered by Elle Magazine. Research explains much of the nuanced and complex situation pushing our numbers down - the barriers are cultural, stemming both from the way we "do" politics and the way we "do" gender here. Nonetheless, government will only be more effective, and can only really work, when it looks like the population it serves. So run, Mama! |
WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BE A WOMAN ON CAPITOL HILL?
It's not as exciting as it may look in House of Cards, that's for sure. The National Journal asked women staffers if sexism and gender played a role in their work, and if so, how. Their answers are fascinating. For a place that allegedly runs on merit and power, an awful lot of bias and gender-stereotyping still occur. On the other hand, influencing Members of Congress and shaping policy can be pretty cool. The piece is mostly graphics and quotes, a very quick read and richly thought-provoking. My fave: "I built a group of Republican chiefs of staff who are also mothers and created a strong support network." We are better when we can lean on each other, always.
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THE GLOBAL MOMS CHALLENGE
"Do you know how many of our most powerful politicians, CEOs, college presidents and religious leaders are also mothers? Do you know how many are fathers? Neither did I, but I had a sneaking suspicion that where motherhood is a penalty when it comes to public power and influence, fatherhood is a bonus. So to find out the truth, I created the first measure of motherhood and public power, the Motherhood+Public Power Index, and the results are shocking... When approximately 40% of the US population are mothers, how can we be satisfied with just 14 percent representation in the halls of power? And with more than 3 out of every 4 of the most powerful positions held by fathers, clearly having children need not act as a barrier to public influence." Read more here.
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What if...it was easier to use your spending power to make a better, fairer world? Take a look at the Buy Up Index, an app that instantly tells you about "a company's demonstrated commitment to gender equality". Researchers track data revealing the percentage of women's leadership, availability of paid maternity leave, philanthropy, and gender diversity initiatives (among other measures). Then they award a numerical rating. At a glance you can tell if where you spend your dollars deserves your business. Using the power of the purse to promote positive social change? Priceless.
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If you are a Harvard-trained woman lawyer, you've educated your way out of the gender gap, right? Not so fast, Elle Woods. According to data collected by Harvard Law School about its own graduates, the outlook is grim. "Once again, women are overwhelmingly more likely to suffer these negative consequences than men, beginning from the moment of the child's birth. Women report experiencing a litany of broken promises and unfair treatment surrounding parental leave and work schedules at rates that are overwhelmingly higher than similar incidents reported by their male peers, including pressure to work while on parental leave (69% to 31%), unreasonable work demands thereafter (90% to 10%), and difficulty in obtaining flexibility or part-time work (82% to 18%). These disparities persist as women seek to continue to advance in their careers, with many more women than men reporting that they have lost clients (87% to 13%), timely promotions (83% to 17%), seniority (80% to 20%), income (82% to 18%), & even office space (66% to 34%) as a result of having children."
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