Do You Know About MomsRising?

 I am so excited about and proud of MomsRising!

This is the organization that didn't exist when my husband and I had little kids, before the internet and its possibilities mushroomed.

Moms, dads, women, men, grandparents, step-parents, or anybody who cares about the well-being of our families, you might want to know about this organization. MomsRising is bringing awareness of family and mothering/parenting issues to us and to our legislators. They are actively watching and responding to national and state debates and encouraging and proposing legislation to change and improve the well-being of women, mothers, children and  families.

 Family paid leave was recently approved in Washington state due to the efforts of these moms. My latest e-mail was about equal pay. Did you know that an "equal pay" charge must be made within 180 days, or can't be filed? This, in a culture in which mention of pay is taboo? Go to www.momsrising.com, sign up for their e-newsletter, and send off a letter to your senators and reps, easily done through the website.

 You can order their book and/or DVD through their website. Your purchase helps support the work of Moms.Rising. The following is from their website:

The MomsRising Organization

www.momsrising.com 

"Despite all the rhetoric about being family-friendly, we have structured a society that is decidedly unfriendly... What's missing now is a movement. What's missing now is an organization. That's why MomsRising is so important." -- Senator Barack Obama, 9/28/06

Shocking but true: There is deep bias against mothers in America today. One study found mothers are 44% less likely to be hired than equally qualified non-mothers, and are offered an average of $11,000 lower starting salaries. Another study found women without children make 90 cents to a man’s dollar, mothers make 73 cents, and single mothers make about 60 cents to a man’s dollar.

This begins to explain why there are so many women and children living in poverty, and why there are so few women in leadership. Countries with family-friendly policies in place don’t experience the same motherhood wage penalties we do here. And, America is woefully behind the rest of the world when it comes to implementing policies and programs that support mothers and families. MomsRising is working toward cultural and political change to build a more family-friendly America.

MomsRising has a goal of bringing millions of people, who all share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America, together as a non-partisan force for 2008 and beyond. This grassroots, online effort is mobilizing mothers, and all who have mothers, across America as a cohesive force for change. Started this May 2006, MomsRising already has nearly 90,000 citizen members, as well as more than seventy-five (and growing) aligned national organizations, working together to create positive solutions for the future.

MomsRising aligned organizations include some of the nation’s strongest women's organizations, family advocacy groups, mother’s organizations, child advocacy groups, unions, health care organizations, parenting groups, the faith community, and many other organizations which have aligned missions to build a family-friendly America. (Here's who we're working with on this effort.)

The members of MomsRising are moving important motherhood and family issues to the forefront of the country's awareness, and are working to break the logjam that’s been holding back family-friendly legislation for decades. MomsRising is doing this by providing grassroots support to leaders and organizations addressing key issues such as paid family leave; flexible work options; after-school programs; healthcare for all kids; excellent childcare; and living wages.

Based in part on the MoveOn.org organizing model (and co-founded by Joan Blades, co-founder of MoveOn.org), MomsRising offers easy entry into citizen advocacy. The experience of MoveOn proves grassroots online organizing can produce dramatic results. MomsRising’s intent is to engage millions of women and other caregivers, to educate the public about the problems facing mothers and families, and to provide avenues for civic engagement, as well as common-sense solutions to shared issues.

In addition to our primary web-based organizing model, the MomsRising program includes strategies to further a national movement by leveraging the collaborative power of existing organizations and recruiting new organizational and grassroots supporters. MomsRising is: Calling together a broad-based national coalition of organizations, many of which have not previously partnered on family issues; Providing education and model legislation for state and national legislators; Holding elected officials accountable for their positions on family-friendly issues; Promoting change in the private sector, and; Proactively conducting media outreach, public education, and outreach to key traditional and non-traditional constituencies.

MomsRising is founded by Joan Blades and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, along with Katie Bethell (Program Associate), Ashley Boyd (Program Lead), Catherine Geanuracos (Chief Technical Officer), Leslie Miller (Executive Editor), Donna Norton (Work/Life Specialist), Mary Olivella (Organizational Consultant), and Jo Roberts (Outreach Specialist). Joan Blades is President, and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner is Executive Director.