Month: April 2012

NPR Airs Story on Working Mom Conundrum

The recent brouhaha in the national news media around Ann Romney’s work as a stay-at-home mother of five has yielded some excellent commentary that — happily — reaches far behind the old “mommy wars.” Because today’s mothers know that there are much more important issues at stake, ranging from the high cost of child care to lack of workplace flexibility and paid time off to care for sick family members. Plus, most of us do stints of paid and unpaid work throughout our time as mothers, so the divide is no longer relevant (if it ever was).

Take a minute (or four) to listen to this excellent NPR story on the challenges of working mothers in the United States — it’s another positive outcome of the hullaballoo.

Report on Paid Family & Medical Leave!

The Center for American Progress (CAP) just released a new report (April 12, 2012) documenting the need for a national paid family and medical leave program. The report, “The Effects of Paid Family and Medical Leave on Employment Stability and Economic Security,” explains how — “though it may seem counterintuitive — providing paid family and medical leave when people cannot work due to caregiving responsibilities actually helps keep people employed. Read the rest.