July 2007 e-Exchange
THE MOMSRISING e-EXCHANGE“A Dialog Among Organizations Working to Build a Family-Friendly America”
July 31, 2007
Circulation: 267
The e-Exchange distribution list includes some of the nation's strongest women's organizations, family advocacy groups, mother's organizations, child advocacy groups, unions, health care organizations, parenting groups, and faith-based organizations as well as academicians, researchers, and writers who are all working to better the lives of mothers and families.
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A. MomsRising and Your Organization: Continuing to explore collaboration and movement building together.
- Families Rising and DaddiesBlogging
- U.S. Congress: "Balancing Work and Family: What Policies Best Support America's Families?"
- Mothers: 79% less likely to be hired--from the American Journal of Sociology
C. The State of the States: Valuable updates on state actions on family leave and paid sick days legislation.
D. Good Reading: Recent publications on mother and familiy issues.
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A. MOMSRISING AND YOUR ORGANIZATION
How can our growing grassroots membership support your initiatives?
In its first year, MomsRising gained 130,000 members and is currently growing by hundreds to thousands of new members a week. This steady growth is punctuated by occasional growth in the tens of thousands when we are active on a high intensity campaign.
In the past twelve months, these members have put nearly 100,000 signatures on various family-related petitions, sent tens of thousands emailed letters to legislators and other leaders, placed thousands of phone calls, and joined numerous on-the-ground events across the country. Many of these actions have been taken to support the initiatives of MomsRising’s aligned organizations, such as yours.
Here are a few examples of how we have collaborated together:
- Families USA, the Children's Alliance, and the Children's Defense Fund consulted with MomsRising in developing a recent e-outreach to our members. The e-outreach provided MomsRising members with the option to send messages to Congress in order to urge the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) including at least $50 billion to expand coverage to all children, improve benefits, and simplify enrollment. As a result, MomsRising members sent 16,832 messages to Congress.
- The Center for Law and Social Policy launched their first-ever cartoon captioning contest this summer as part of their job quality initiative, Opportunity at Work, using humor and fun to engage more people in what are often serious workplace issues. MomsRising let our members know about the contest and provided links for participation. Look here for the cartoon picture and captions finalists
- This past week, the Working Families Party of New York (WFPNY) and the New York State Paid Family Leave Coalition (NYSPFLC) identified a key opportunity to pass Paid Family Leave in a special session of the New York legislature. MomsRising members responded quickly to the call sending 3,718 messages to their state senators and the governor in only four days. Additionally, the WFPNY and NYSPFLC set up a MomsRising Power of ONEsie display for the senate members to see as they reconvened for the special session.
In several other instances, and by working together, a number of the bills supported by our aligned organizations have gained significant momentum and much-needed visibility among legislators has been generated. MomsRising is looking forward to continuing this kind of collaboration with aligned organizations in the coming year. We’d love to hear form you about emerging issues and initiatives so that we can determine together if our online, grassroots engagement can help make a difference in moving the issue forward. We are most effective when there is a near-term deadline for the action. Our goal is to work with you in order to identify priority issues to bring to our membership.
Four ways MomsRising collaborates with other organizations to build citizen engagement:
- E-Outreaches to our membership: Do you have a timely initiative? Are you aware of relevant breaking news? Help us identify opportunities to engage our 130,000 members in important family issues.
- Action on our web site: If your organization has a timely ask for action, we may be able to place this on our home page so that our site visitors can sign a petition or participate in citizen feedback.
- MommyBloggers: You are always welcome to write about family issues on our web site. (See information on DaddyBloggers below!)
- The e-Exchange Newsletter: Would you like to share information on your organization’s activities with the rest of the 238 people on this e-Exchange distribution list? They, like you, represent organizations which are at the forefront of bringing about family-friendly policies in our country.
Please let us know if you think of other ways that our online work can support all of our organizations working together. Contact Joan@moveon.org.
FamiliesRising and DaddiesBlogging: Many of MomsRising’s mom members have men in their lives who want to work with us on what are, in fact, family issues that touch dads as much as moms, though sometimes in different ways. In order to have a particularly welcoming spot for fathers, MomsRising launched the FamiliesRising.org web space this past Father’s Day. FamiliesRising gives fathers, grandfathers, brothers, uncles, and others a place to discuss ways we can all work together bring about constructive change. We’ve gotten words of appreciation for this effort and there are a growing number of Daddy and Granddaddy bloggers who are making contributions to the web page. We welcome your feedback as well. If you know men who would like to contribute to this site, please refer them to Joan@moveon.org. U.S. Congress: “Balancing Work and Family: What Policies Best Support America’s Families?”: The congressional Workforce Protections Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Lynn Woolsey, held a hearing on June 21st on the need for family-friendly legislation. Witnesses included Congresswomen Rosa DeLauro and Judy Biggert, employees from Wal-Mart, KPMG, and Marlin Steel Wire Products, and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner from MomsRising. Read and listen to the hearing here. (Kristin’s testimony acknowledges the critical work of many aligned organizations working together to support families.) Mothers: 79% less likely to be hired than non-mothers with equal resumes: So found Shelley J. Correll, Stephen Benard, and In Paik of Cornell University in a study published in March in the American Journal of Sociology entitled: “Getting a Job: Is There a Motherhood Penalty?” In addition to revealing this level of discrimination in hiring practices, the researchers also documented the extent to which mothers are offered lower starting salaries, and how they are held to harsher performance standards. Click here for more information Below are two valuable updates on family leave legislation in the states, and on paid sick days legislation. We extend rounds of appreciation to the Multi-State Working Families Consortium and the National Partnership for Women & Families for providing this information. I. Update on Family Leave Legislation in the States Compiled by the Multi-State Working Families Consortium and the National Partnership for Women & Families, July 2007 State advocates and legislators around the nation are addressing the need for policies that make it possible for people to be productive workers and care for themselves or their family members in times of need. Thus far in 2007, a range of bills have been introduced to implement workplace standards and programs that work for working families. California The Work and Family Coalition of unions and advocacy groups is advocating for a package of family legislation. SB727 would expand California’s Paid Family Leave law to cover grandparents, siblings, parents-in-law and grandchildren. AB537 would expand the state version of the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover grandparents, siblings, parents-in-law and grandchildren. SB836 would prohibit discrimination based on a worker’s family status, including a worker’s responsibilities to care for a family member. Take action now: Send a postcard to the Governor For more information, contact Netsy Firestein, Work and Family Coalition, at netsy@working-families.org or visit The Work and Family Coalition Website. Colorado Colorado 9to5 has built a work-family coalition that is engaged in grassroots organizing, media, gathering stories and building ally support for public education and state policy efforts to provide parents time off work to attend children’s school activities and to guarantee workers paid sick days. Colorado 9to5 is also working to bring Colorado voices into national efforts to protect and expand FMLA and win paid sick days, and to include work-family issues in local community benefits campaigns. For more information, contact Linda Meric, 9to5, National Association of Working Women, at (303) 628-0925 or Lindam@9to5.org or visit Colorado 9to5. Georgia The Georgia Job/Family Collaborative, made up of more than 30 local and statewide labor, community and women’s organizations, is building public support and awareness for the Parent Protection Act. The bill will provide up to 24 hours unpaid, job-protected leave per year to: Take action now: Visit The Georgia Job/Family Collaborative and sign up to endorse the Georgia Job/Family Collaborative legislative agenda and receive updates on the Parent Protection Act campaign. For more information, contact Cindia Cameron, Organizing Director, 9to5 and Co-chair, GA Job/Family Collaborative at Cindia@9to5.org or visit the Georgia Job/Family Collaborative website. Illinois During the 2007 session of the Illinois legislature, the Family Leave Insurance Program (FLIP) was introduced. The bill would allow for four weeks of paid family and medical leave, provided through shared financing by employers and employees at 75 cents per employee per week, with a payout of 67% of wages up to a maximum of $380 per week. It applies to employers of one or more. The Coalition has collected thousands of postcards supporting paid leave that they have delivered to legislators. For more information, contact Melissa Josephs, Women Employed, at mjosephs@womenemployed.org or visit Women Employed. Maine In summer 2007 the Maine Women’s Lobby celebrated passage of a bill guaranteeing equal access to the Family and Medical Leave Act for gays and lesbians. Maine’s FMLA now includes domestic partners and their kids in the law’s definition of family. The Maine Women’s Lobby also helped secure legislation protecting worker’s right to use intermittent leave under Maine’s family medical leave law. The Maine Women’s Lobby is partnering with the Work and Family Coalition to advance “An Act to Care for Working Families.” This bill would guarantee up to nine paid sick days per year accrued at one hour per 30 hours worked in establishments with 25 or more employees. Over the next few months, the “Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces” campaign will be engaging advocates for Maine women and families by calling for a new workplace standard for paid sick days for Maine’s workers. For more information, contact Sarah Standiford, Maine Women’s Lobby, exec@mainewomen.org or visit the Maine Women's Lobby. New Jersey New Jersey legislators are currently considering S2249/ A3812, bills which would extend the State's existing temporary disability insurance (TDI) system to provide workers with family leave benefits to care for sick family members or to bond with newborn or newly adopted children. The bills provide up to 12 weeks of TDI benefits (two-thirds wage replacement up to maximum of $502 in 2007) for a worker taking leave to care for a sick child parent, spouse, or partner, or to bond with a new born or adopted child. S2249 has been voted out of two committees and is clear for a floor vote although it was amended in the Budget & Appropriations Committee to provide 10 weeks of TDI benefits. We expect both bills will be considered during the fall 2007 legislative session. Take action now: Contact your State Legislators, Governor Jon Corzine, Senate President Richard Codey, and Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts and urge them to support S2249/A3812 and ensure both its quick passage through both houses without any amendments, and its enactment into law. For more information, contact Karen White, Time to Care Coalition, at kswhite@rci.rutgers.edu or visit the New Jersey Time to Care Coalition web site. New York In 2007 the New York State legislature considered the “Working Families Time to Care Act.” The legislation, introduced by Speaker Silver, Assemblywoman John and Assemblywoman Nolan (A-9245), would expand New York’s existing Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program to include paid family leave. The bill would provide up to twelve weeks of paid leave to care for a new baby or a newly placed adopted child, or for a seriously ill family member, including a spouse, parent, in-law, sibling, child or domestic partner. The paid leave benefits paid would be the same as New York’s current TDI benefits, equal to half of weekly wages up to a maximum of $170 a week. The proposal calls for the extension of benefits to be paid for by an increase in employee contributions. The New York State Assembly passed the bill on June 22nd, 2007. The Senate did not take up the bill during their July 16th, 2007 one-day special session. The outlook for passage is good; the Senate is in agreement with the need for paid family leave but it is likely that they will wait to pass the bill in 2008, an election year. For more information, contact Donna Dolan, New York Paid Family Leave Coalition, at Donna@timetocareny.org or visit the New York Time to Care website. Oregon HB 2575, championed by Oregon Representative Diane Rosenbaum, would provide workers with a Family Leave Benefits Insurance program to be used to care for a new baby, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, or to recover from one’s own serious health condition. Workers would be eligible for up to six weeks of paid leave per year, at $250 per week. The program would be funded through employee contributions of one cent per hour per worker. The bill passed the House on June 25th. The Senate took up the bill on June 27th, but failed to pass it. The legislature adjourned on June 28th. It is likely that the bill will be reintroduced in the next legislative session. For more information, contact Regan Grey or Representative Diane Rosenbaum at Rosenbaum.Rep@state.or.us. Washington Washington has become the second state in the nation to assure paid family leave for all parents to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. SB 5659, passed in April, 2007, establishes a new family leave program. Beginning in October 2009, parents of newborn and newly adopted children will be able to take up to five weeks off work with a benefit of $250 per week, pro-rated for part-time workers. All employees would be eligible to collect benefits after 680 hours of work. Workers in companies with more than 25 employees who had been with their employers for at least a year and 1250 hours would also have job protection for the five weeks of benefits and a 1 week wait period. As passed, the bill establishes a taskforce of legislators and citizens, including business and labor representatives, to recommend a funding source for the program before the legislature reconvenes in January 2008. A statewide Family Leave coalition, including labor, senior, women, child, health, business and other groups, backed the legislation with an outpouring of grass roots support. For more information, contact Marilyn Watkins, Economic Opportunity Institute, at Marilyn@eoionline.org or visit the Economic Opportunity Institute website. (For more information on work and family advocacy in the states, visit www.paidfamilyleave.org or www.nationalpartnership.org.) II. Update on Paid Sick Days Legislation in the States Compiled by the National Partnership for Women & Families July 2007 More than a dozen cities and states are addressing the need for paid sick days, building on the momentum from San Francisco’s successful ballot measure. Already, many city and state legislatures have introduced bills—or are planning on doing so—in 2007. Bills will soon be introduced in several additional locations, including Ohio (www.sickdaysohio.org) and West Virginia (www.sickdayswv.org). Connecticut A coalition in Connecticut, led by Connecticut ACORN, advocated in 2007 for SB 601, which would require employers with fifteen or more employees provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. The paid sick days earned can be used for an employee’s own illness, or in cases dealing with family violence, sexual assault or violence. The bill has been heard and passed by the Joint Committee on Labor and Public Employees, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and was reported out of the Legislative Commissioners’ Office. The bill passed in the Senate on May 29. The bill was not taken up in the House before the end of the session. Advocates plan to re-introduce the bill next session and are assured that it is likely it will be passed. For more information, visit Connecticut ACORN. Florida A coalition in Florida, led by Florida ACORN, advocated in 2007 for HB 763/ SB 2192, which would require all employers with ten or more employees to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. Workers would be able to earn up to a maximum of 52 hours per year, capped at around 6.5 days annually. Employers with less than ten employees would provide one hour for every 80 hours worked, capped at around 3.5 days annually. The paid sick days provided can be used for an employee’s own illness, to care for a sick family member, or to recover from incidents of domestic violence. The legislation did not pass during this legislative session, but may resurface in future sessions. HF 763 died in the Committee on Business Regulation on May 4th. SB 2192 died in the Committee on Commerce on May 4th. District of Columbia The DC Paid Sick and Safe Days Act Coalition, led by the DC Employment Justice Center, is leading the charge for B17- 0197. The bill would require employers to provide workers with 10 paid sick days annually (accrued at a rate of one hour for every 26 hours worked) to be used for a worker’s own illness, to seek routine and preventive care, to care for a family member, to attend school-related activities, for domestic violence-related court appearances, or to seek other abuse-related essential services. Employers with five or fewer employees would only have to provide a maximum of five paid sick days per year for workers. The bill was introduced in the DC City Council on May 1, 2007 with unanimous support, and co-sponsorship by all Council members. A hearing was held on July 9th, 2007, to consider the bill; the Committee chair and all Councilmembers have vowed to pass a bill that covers all businesses and all workers. The Council is in recess until September, when it will reconvene to mark up the bill. For more information, contact Karen Minatelli, DC Employment Justice Center, at kminatelli@dcejc.org or visit the DC Employment Justice Center website. Maine A coalition of Maine advocates led by the Maine Women’s Lobby worked on behalf of LD 1454/ HP 1024, which would require employers with 25 or more employees to provide one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, capped at nine sick days per year. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Labor, where it had a hearing on April 4th. In the Senate, the bill was placed under suspension of the rules on motion by Senator Strimling of Cumberland, and referred to the Committee on Labor. In May 2007, the bill was stalled and carried over until January of 2008. For more information, contact Sarah Standiford, Maine Women’s Lobby, exec@mainewomen.org or visit the Maine Women's Lobby website. Maryland A coalition in Maryland, led by Maryland ACORN, advocated in 2007 for HB 832/ SB 828. The bill would require that larger employers (with 10 or more employees) provide employees with one hour of paid sick leave for every 37 hours worked, not to exceed 56 hours, to use for a wide range of reasons, including to seek medical treatment, to care for a family member, or to recover from incidents of domestic violence. Smaller employers (with fewer than 10 employees) would be required to provide one hour for every 80 hours worked, not to exceed 26 hours annually. The House bill was referred to the Committee on Economic Matters and had a hearing on 2/13. It received an unfavorable committee report by Economic Matters on March 13th. After a Senate hearing, the bill received an unfavorable report from the Finance Committee. The bill died when the legislature adjourned on April 9th. Maryland also introduced a flexibility standard in 2007, which would give workers the option of using their accrued paid sick days to care for a sick family member. This bill also received an unfavorable report. Massachusetts The Massachusetts Paid Family Leave Coalition, led by Greater Boston Legal Services, and its allies in the state legislature introduced S 1073. The bill would require all businesses to offer all full-time employees seven paid sick days annually. The paid sick days can be used to care for an employee’s own illness, to care for a sick family member, for an employee’s or family member’s medical appointments or treatments, or to address the psychological, physical or legal effects of domestic violence. The bill was introduced on January 10th and referred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Workforce development. For more information contact Ingrid Nava, Greater Boston Legal Services, at inava@gbls.org or visit the Greater Boston Legal Services website. Minnesota A coalition in Minnesota, led by Minnesota ACORN, advocated in 2007 for SF 1324/ HF 1334. The bills would provide all workers with paid sick days, to be used to recover for their own illness, to care for an ill family member, to obtain diagnosis or treatment, or for absence necessary due to domestic violence. Paid sick leave would accrue at the rate of one hour per 40 hours worked, capped at 52 hours per year. Smaller businesses (businesses with less than ten employees) would only be required to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 80 hours worked, capped at 26 hours per year. HF 1334 was referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor. SF 1324 was referred to the Committee on Business, Industry, and Jobs. The bill died when the legislature adjourned on May 21st. Missouri A coalition in Missouri, led by Missouri ACORN, worked on behalf of SB 637. The bill would require that larger employers (with 10 or more employees) provide workers with one hour of paid sick leave for every 37 hours worked, capped at 40 hours per year. Small employers would be required to provide one hour of paid leave for every 80 hours worked, capped at 26 hours per year. Employees could use this sick leave in the event of their own illness, to care for a sick family member, or to obtain medical diagnosis or treatment. The bill was referred to the Senate Small Business, Insurance, and Industrial Relations Committee. The bill died when the legislature adjourned May 30th. North Carolina HB 1711 guarantees all workers are provided with one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of seven days annually. The paid sick days provided can be used for an employee’s own illness, to care for a sick family member, or to recover from incidents of domestic violence. North Carolina’s paid sick days coalition is led by the North Carolina Justice Center. The Senate is considering a sick days bill this session, as well (SB 1092), but this measure would only provide job-protected unpaid sick days for workers. HB 1711 is currently in the Committee on Commerce, Small Business and Entrepreneurship. If it is passed by the Committee it will next be considered by the Committee on Appropriations. For more information, contact Bill Rowe, North Carolina Justice Center, at bill@ncjustice.org or visit the North Carolina Justice Center website. Pennsylvania PathWaysPA, a nonprofit organization serving women and children in Pennsylvania, has begun work on bringing paid sick days legislation to the state. They propose introducing legislation under which workers earn one hour of paid sick days for every 35 hours worked (workers in small businesses would earn one hour for every 55 hours worked). They have also made paid sick days a legislative priority in a report written for the Working Poor Families Project, which was released in January 2007. In addition, paid sick days have been made part of the agenda for Prescription for Prosperity Coalition, with PathWaysPA taking the lead on this piece of the plan. In March 2007, PathWaysPA began its Postcards for Progress Campaign, which will bring the needs of working families in Pennsylvania (including paid sick days) to the Governor and other state legislators. To date, over 10,000 postcards have been distributed across the state. For more information, contact Marianne Bellesorte, PathWaysPA, at mbellesorte@pathwayspa.org or visit PathWaysPA. Vermont H 337 requires that employers provide seven paid sick days annually for employees who work 30 or more hours per week, and a pro-rated number of days for part-time workers, to recover from their own illness, care for an ill family member, or seek preventive or routine health care. Vermont’s paid sick days coalition is led by Voices for Vermont’s Children. The House bill was referred to the General, Housing, and Military Affairs Committee. The bill died when the legislature adjourned on May 12th. For more information, visit Voices for Vermont's Children. (For more information on paid sick days advocacy in the states, visit www.paidsickdays.org.) The Adventures of Carrie Giver: America's New Comic Book Superheroine: Rethinking the Value of Caregiving in the 21st Century. TR Rose Associates, Inc. is unveiling America's first true female super-hero since Wonder Woman. Conceived for the Caregiver Credit Campaign, the new heroine will set the nation abuzz, challenging ideas about mothers and other caregivers in our political, social, and economic life. Our feminist career heroine will have politicians and hairdressers, women and girls, hardhats and female executives, right along with caregivers re-thinking personal and social policy, including Social Security. Carrie Giver will be kicking butt in the name of hundreds of millions of people, especially mothers, who give care to the young and old alike each and every day. For more information, visit the publisher's website. Mothers on the Fast Track: How the New Generation Can Balance Career and Family: Mary Ann Mason and Eve Mason Ekman. In the past few decades the number of women entering graduate and professional schools has been going up and up, while the number of women reaching the top rung of the corporate and academic worlds has remained relatively stagnant. Why are so many women falling off the fast track? In this timely book, Mary Ann Mason traces the career paths of the first generation of ambitious women who started careers in academia, law, medicine, business, and the media in large numbers in the 1970s and '80s. Many women who had started families but continued working had ended up veering off the path to upper management at a point she calls "the second glass ceiling." Rather than sticking to their original career goals, they allowed themselves to slide into a second tier of management that offers fewer hours, less pay, lower prestige, and limited upward mobility. Men who did likewise--entered the career world with high aspirations and then started families while working--not only did not show the same trend, they reached even higher levels of professional success than men who had no families at all. Along with her daughter, an aspiring journalist, Mason has written a guide for young women who are facing the tough decision of when--and if--to start a family. It is also a guide for older women seeking a second chance to break through to the next level, as Mason herself did in academia. The book features anecdotes and strategies from the dozens of women they interviewed. Advice ranges from the personal (know when to say "no," the importance of time management) to the institutional, with suggestions for how the workplace itself can be changed to make it easier for ambitious working mothers to reach the top levels. The result is a roadmap of new choices for women facing the sobering question of how to balance a successful career with family. (Above description from Amazon.com.) No-Vacation Nation by Rebecca Ray and John Schmidt, released by Center for Economic and Policy Research. This report reviewed international vacation and holiday laws and found that the United States is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers any paid vacation or holidays. As a result, 1 in 4 U.S. workers do not receive any paid vacation or paid holidays. The lack of paid vacation and paid holidays in the U.S. is particularly acute for lower-wage and part-time workers, and for employees of small businesses. This report also includes a comparative appendix with information on paid leave and holiday laws in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit the Center for Economic and Policy Research website. Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success by Sylvia Ann Hewlett. Despite advances in women's rights, as well as telecommuting, job sharing and flex-work, the components of corporate advancement have been largely unchanged since the 1950s; according to author and economist Hewlett (Creating a Life), these outdated criteria are decidedly stacked against women: lock step progression, face time, unreasonable hours, flattery and obeisance, golf and strip clubs and male bonding. The 60 percent of women workers who take a career-path detour ("off-ramp"), typically for family reasons, are welcomed back with un- or underemployment. Meanwhile, traditional male incentives-money and power-don't hold the same appeal for women, leading to substantial attrition rates among the business's upper echelons. Although Hewlett is admirably thorough in her research of "off ramping" as a strategy for women, and provides plenty of real-world examples, she's unconcerned with the larger implications for workers of either gender; though the female focus doesn't detract, it may leave readers with some unanswered questions (why should any employee withstand what resembles fraternity hazing just to get ahead?). Nevertheless, Hewlett looks at all areas of a constrictive work environment and offers intelligent solutions for reaching one's full potential within it. (Above review from Publishers Weekly as found on Amazon.com.) Opting Out?: Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home by Pamela Stone. Noting a phenomenon that might seem to recall a previous era, The New York Times Magazine recently portrayed women who leave their careers in order to become full-time mothers as "opting out." But, are high-achieving professional women really choosing to abandon their careers in order to return home? This provocative study is the first to tackle this issue from the perspective of the women themselves. Based on a series of candid, in-depth interviews with women who returned home after working as doctors, lawyers, bankers, scientists, and other professions, Pamela Stone explores the role that their husbands, children, and coworkers play in their decision; how women's efforts to construct new lives and new identities unfold once they are home; and where their aspirations and plans for the future lie. What we learn--contrary to many media perceptions--is that these high-flying women are not opting out but are instead being pushed out of the workplace. Drawing on their experiences, Stone outlines concrete ideas for redesigning workplaces to make it easier for women--and men--to attain their goal of living rewarding lives that combine both families and careers. (Above description from Amazon.com.) The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics by Riane Eisler. Accomplished feminist social theorist and activist Eisler follows up her 1987 international bestseller The Chalice and the Blade with an inquiry into the nature and causes of "the real wealth of nations" in a contrarian work of grand economic theory. She begins with her original thesis: that we inherit and inhabit a personal and social world that masculinity has built by consistently devaluing and subordinating the feminine. Pointing out the socially and ecologically destructive flaws inherent in both capitalist and socialist economies, she then asserts that our emerging global society needs a new story of what human nature and economics are and can be. For Eisler, economies are social inventions imbedded in larger social systems. She offers a clearly written and compelling account of how the masculine "dominator" mentality brought us to our present juncture, and how a feminine "partnership" mentality can help us redefine key concepts such as "value" and "needs." Citing the most recent economic data and offering numerous relevant examples of places where efforts to practice a caring economics have succeeded both in preindustrial and modern societies, such as the Nordic nations, the book is ambitious in breadth, depth and scope. Eisler delivers another impressive work that's remarkably well referenced, well argued, insightful and hopeful. (Above review from Publishers Weekly as found on Amazon.com.) _______________________________________________ About the MomsRising e-Exchange: The e-Exchange is a project of MomsRising.org which is building an online, grassroots, trans-partisan movement to improve our country's treatment of mothers and families. The purpose of the e-Exchange is to provide linkages among some of the nation's strongest women's organizations, family advocacy groups, mother's organizations, child advocacy groups, unions, health care organizations, parenting groups, and faith-based organizations as well as academicians, researchers and writers who are all working to better the lives of mothers and families. To see a list of organizations aligned with MomsRising, please visit our website. We encourage you to send us information to place in future e-Exchanges. And please forward the e-Exchange to others who might want to subscribe. To submit an entry or to subscribe, contact: Mary@momsrising.org.
B. SPOTLIGHT ON:
C. STATE OF THE STATES
D. GOOD READING
