Tag: Mother’s Day

This Mother’s Day, I Cherish My Mother’s Strength and the Gift of Time

My mother, Ethel Kennedy, is extraordinary. Seeing such resilience and strength has allowed me to better recognize and come to understand attributes in the many courageous mothers I’ve met in my own human rights work:

The mother of slain LGBTQ+ activist Vicky Hernandez, who refused to give up the fight for justice for her daughter until the Honduran government took accountability for her murder. The mother of slain Colombian activist Nelson Carvajal, who has heartbreaking strength and had to watch each of her grandchildren and children head into exile because their lives are threatened when they demanded accountability. The Polish mothers who have thoughtfully left their own strollers at train stations for Ukrainian refugees to take, and use, after they fled their homeland. And so many others.

Skip the Flowers: This Mother’s Day, Help Save Women Who Suffer During Childbirth

Every year, nearly 300,000 women die because of pregnancy and childbirth—and 95 percent of those deaths are preventable. The biggest health disparity between rich and poor is reflected in how likely a woman is to die while bringing new life into this world.

For every woman who dies, another 20 to 30 suffer from preventable and treatable injuries like obstetric fistula—a childbirth injury that causes urinary and/or fecal incontinence and destroys a woman’s life. Obstetric fistula is just a symptom of a larger problem: the global under-investment in maternal healthcare.

Our Crisis in Maternal Healthcare Is Uniquely American

Maternal healthcare in the U.S. is largely not accessible, equitable, affordable or person-centered. When maternal health suffers, so does newborn health and future child health.

For this Mother’s Day, policymakers, administrators, medical practitioners and healthcare providers need to demonstrate to mothers in the U.S. that they are a priority and advocate for legislation that promotes comprehensive maternal healthcare.

The Mother Tax: Working Moms Are at the Breaking Point

For each child they have, mothers get a 5 to 10 percent pay cut on average. Meanwhile fathers get a 6 percent pay bump per child.  As the primary caregiver in many households—33 percent of married working moms have identified themselves as their children’s sole care provider—many women have been forced to choose between their kids and their careers.

What will it take for employers to account for the heightened responsibilities of moms in the workplace?

Mothers Want Federally Funded Childcare. Why Are These Koch-Funded Women Opposing It?

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Special interest groups funded by corporations and the ultra-wealthy went all out in attacking Build Back Better. These groups hide behind a woman’s face to conceal anti-feminist policy positions while reproducing social inequalities for families across generations by opposing policies and structures that would advance equality and improve economic mobility. 

What Moms in Politics Really Want This Mother’s Day: Campaign-Funded Childcare

There are several obstacles moms face when entering politics—a big one being the lack of universal, affordable childcare.

For moms entering a political career at any level, allowing campaign funds to be used for childcare expenses is a critical first step to leveling the playing field for women candidates to run and win. Campaign-funded childcare means that both men and women candidates would no longer need to factor in childcare costs when deciding to run, which would blow open the doors for more and diverse women candidates to get their names on the ballot.

Colleges Must Support Student Parents Even After COVID

Colleges Must Support Student Parents Even After COVID

No category of college students has been harder hit than one that is often invisible: students who are also mothers (and fathers). Despite being largely left out of the national higher ed conversation, student parents make up about one-quarter of all college students, and face barriers like soaring college costs and lack of affordable childcare and housing.