The Motherhood Manifesto

I recently finished reading an absolutely wonderful book called "The Motherhood Manifesto: What America's Moms Want--and What to Do About It" by Joan Blades and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. Now, when I first got it from the library, I was slightly skeptical that it would be over-the-top feminist, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was far from it. It had its moments, but overall, it was very pro-family.

The premise of the book is all about moms, dads, and ultimately the nation coming together to start a revolution of sorts--one that works as a grassroots movement to promote family-friendly social policy change in the United States. It shared many stories of women who are facing challenges with raising families, as well as statistics that demonstrate time and time again that family-friendly policies can only be beneficial to the nation, both socially and economically.

There are six basic manifesto points that were emphasized throughout the book:
1. Maternity/paternity leave: provide paid family leave after the addition of a new child to the family.
2. Open, flexible work: give parents the opportunity to structure their work schedules and careers in such a way as to meet both business and family needs, including flexible work hours and locations and more part-time opportunities.
3. TV we choose and other after-school programs: creating a way for parents to choose what TV shows (and stations) will be shown in their homes, supporting quality educational programming for kids, and increase access to and funding for after-school programs.
4. Healthcare for all kids: provide quality, universal health care coverage for all children.
5. Excellent childcare: make quality, affordable childcare available to all parents who need it and provide childcare providers with livable wages and health care benefits.
6. Realistic and fair wages: parents need to be paid fair wages that will allow them to provide adequately for their families.

It was a fascinating look at how unfamily-friendly the United States is and how much change is required just to catch up to the rest of the world. It inspires me to write to my Congressmen to voice my opinion about changes that need to be made. There are also a number of petitions and form letters that can be signed and submitted via the Moms Rising website, if anyone is interested.

Among the many things that stuck out for me was learning that the CEO of Wal-Mart made nearly $23 million in 2004, while the company pays wages that tend to be so low that many employees need food stamps and other government assistance just to make ends meet. That may actually cause the end of shopping of Wal-Mart for me!

I'd highly recommend reading this book!