Motherhood

All women should have the right to choose if or when to be mothers, and to have the economic and social support to do so. This choice has been restricted across time and place due to discriminatory legislation against mothers and pregnant people, lackluster social safety nets and anti-abortion/anti-birth control movements.

Affordable Housing as a Human Right: Activist Diane Yentel on the U.S. Housing Crisis, Racial Justice and Democracy

PUBLISHED 9/21/2022 by

Right now, low-income renters are facing rising inflation, skyrocketing rents, limited tenant protections and a shortage of affordable units. Predictably, this is leading to an increasing number of evictions and a spike in homelessness.

Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, sees housing and racial justice as inextricably linked. “We must ensure that low-income people can participate in democracy by removing the barriers to voting that make it difficult to cast a ballot.”

How to Support Moms on Equal Pay Day

PUBLISHED 9/8/2022 by

Sept. 8, 2022, is Moms’ Equal Pay Day—the day in 2022 when the average working mom’s pay finally catches up to what the average dad earned in 2021. For every dollar paid to a working dad, moms only make 58 cents. In other words, it takes moms roughly an extra nine months to earn what dads earn.

Here are some ways to take action help raise awareness about #MomsEqualPay Day.

Stop Praising Colleen Hoover’s ‘It Ends With Us.’ Here’s What You’re Missing

PUBLISHED 9/7/2022 by

Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, It Ends With Us, was the sixth best-selling book of 2021, BookTok is going nuts over it and USA Today called it “the kind of book that gets handed down.” The novel centers on the relationship between Lily and Ryle, a young newlywed couple who live in Boston.

Hoover’s writing is being touted as part of a resurgence of romance writing, but It Ends With Us is not a romance novel; it’s a celebration of toxic masculinity.

Guaranteed Income Is a Blueprint for a Better Social Safety Net: ‘Give People Money—Not Vouchers, Not Subsidies’

PUBLISHED 8/29/2022 by

Many programs also have strict requirements that—by design—prevent low-income people from accessing the benefits they deserve. Traditional welfare policies are often paternalistic and controlling, requiring low-income women to use benefits in specific ways, or forcing them into situations that don’t work well for their family’s needs. 

A federal guaranteed income program is an opportunity to design a social safety net that takes social and historical context into account, empowers low-income parents and ends cycles of poverty.

Front and Center: ‘Before the Magnolia Mother’s Trust, I Was Working Seven Days a Week’

PUBLISHED 8/25/2022 by

Front and Center highlights the success of Springboard to Opportunities’ Magnolia Mother’s Trust, which this year will give $1,000 per month for 12 months to 100 families headed by Black women living in federally subsidized housing.

“It’s been a few months of getting the guaranteed income, and I definitely see an increase in happiness with both me and my kids. I still have to budget, but I’m able to get them more things that they need and even have some left over to be able to reward them with little extras when I can — though making sure my bills are all paid up is always my number one priority.”

Overturning Roe Will Exacerbate the Black Maternal Mortality Crisis. It’s Time for Our Leaders To Act

PUBLISHED 8/23/2022 by

Black women’s health and bodily autonomy have been under consistent, unrelenting attack for centuries, a reality that holds true today. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and deny millions of people the constitutional right to abortion is expected to disproportionately hurt Black women. Policies that seek to improve Black maternal health must necessarily include policies that expand access to abortion care.

Black and Brown Moms Urge Breastfeeding Support

PUBLISHED 8/22/2022 by

We begin another National Breastfeeding Month without the basic workplace breastfeeding protections and support everyone deserves.

The U.S. does not guarantee all nursing moms working outside the home with time and private space to pump. Without these protections, moms will continue pumping in bathrooms, coatrooms, cafeterias, cars and closets—or stop breastfeeding altogether.

Safe Haven Laws Were Never Supposed to Be an Alternative to Abortion

PUBLISHED 8/17/2022 by

The case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has thrust safe haven laws back into the public spotlight. Safe haven laws ignore the very real risks and burdens associated with pregnancy and childbirth, particularly for vulnerable communities, and were never intended to be a literal alternative to abortion.

These laws ignore the very real risks and burdens associated with pregnancy and childbirth, particularly for vulnerable communities. They also represent an abandonment of “troubled young women” by “deciding that their deep-rooted problems can be saved by an after-the-fact, quick-fix solution.”