Maybe Millennials Won’t Know the Meaning of Mommytracking
Cross-posted at the Huffington Post:
Barack and Michelle Obama know it. Catherina Zeta Jones (who performed 8 months pregnant at the Oscars) and Michael Douglas know it. And of course, there’s polka dotted M.I.A, Sarah Palin and Todd, Christina Aguilera…and practically the entire cadre of celebrity moms. Just because a woman is a mother doesn’t mean she’s less ambitious for her career.
The 2009 National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW), which polls 3500 U.S workers across all professional levels, shows that “for the first time, young women want just as much to advance to jobs with more responsibility as young men. Moreover, being a mother does not significantly change young women’s career ambitions.”
Maybe millennials (those under 29) won’t know the meaning of mommytracking! The report, which has been asking the same questions of three decades of workers, finds that “Today, there is no difference between young women with and without children in their desire to move to jobs with more responsibility. Whereas 60% of women under 29 with children and 78% of women without children wanted jobs with more responsibility in 1992, today the percentages are 69% (with children) and 66% (without children).”
Twittercast on the topic of women and work
Now, those who work part-time and lose their jobs can collect unemployment benefits. This is a huge change, and will benefit many women, notes Mimi Abromowitz on Women’s eNews:
After years of facing discrimination by the nation’s unemployment insurance program, women stand to disproportionately benefit from three new rules in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Barack Obama on Feb. 17. Popularly known as the stimulus package, the law provides the states with substantial financial incentives to “modernize” their unemployment insurance systems by closing major gaps that have denied benefits to more than 500,000 people, including many women.
Here’s how women gain; in addition to a temporary hike in the amount of the jobless benefit for all workers and a new dependent’s allowance:
- Benefits will now be provided to workers who must leave their jobs for compelling family reasons, such as caring for ill or disabled family members, relocating with a spouse whose job has moved to another area, or escaping domestic violence in which the abuser follows the woman to her workplace;
- The earning test now looks at the worker’s most recent employment, instead of excluding the last three to six months, making it much easier for low-wage workers and new entrants to the work force (read: large numbers of women) to qualify for benefits.
- Benefits are now available to workers seeking part-time work which also includes many women.
Before the Obama administration liberalized the jobless qualifications, workers had to show a strong “attachment to the labor force” that was measured by wages earned and hours worked. They had to earn sufficient wages over an 18-month period that excluded their most recent earnings and could not be seeking a part-time job.
Want to talk about women and the workplace? MomsRising and Feminism 2.o are hosting a blog carnival and a twittercast on March 20 at 10pm PST.
We’ll discuss: What is work? What kind of work has value? Does the traditional definition of work — the 9 to 5 job with benefits — reflect the economic realities of today, especially for women designing their own work patterns to accommodate their families?
Participate in the Sunday night Fem2.0 twittercast, March 29, 10 PM EST, hashtag #fem2
For something that’s marginalized by the mainstream, this topic induces strong emotions and lots of conversation among every woman I’ve ever met, and many men.
All I can say is…wow
From Lisa Belkin’s Motherlode. Hannah Rosin’s new article on breastfeeding:
Rosin spends pages parsing the medical literature (with online links to all the original studies) and then goes on to examine the downside to breast-feeding; not for all women, but for many. Using an analogy that is already generating sparks in the blogosphere, she wonders if “it was not the vacuum that was keeping me and my 21st-century sisters down, but another sucking sound.”
The debate about breast-feeding takes place without any reference to its actual context in women’s lives. Breast-feeding exclusively is not like taking a prenatal vitamin. It is a serious time commitment that pretty much guarantees that you will not work in any meaningful way. Let’s say a baby feeds seven times a day and then a couple more times at night. That’s nine times for about a half hour each, which adds up to more than half of a working day, every day, for at least six months. This is why, when people say that breast-feeding is “free,” I want to hit them with a two-by-four. It’s only free if a woman’s time is worth nothing.
sched.org for family scheduling
Everyone is obsessed with sched.org- but I want to use it for family scheduling! In interviewing women who have mastered the act of a content work and family life, one theme comes out loud and clear: know your weekly schedule, share it, confirm that your fellow caregivers know it, and keep the schedule public. Sched.org would allow the family to view events details quickly by just mousing over, view on iPhone, and vote what’s popular (trips to Petsmart? Doctor’s appts?).
One IBM executive I spoke with spends and hour updating her schedule every Sunday night. She then sends it to her husband, team, sister, kids, and other family helpers.
What is shovel ready in your town?
I’ve just returned from New Orleans, where I spoke at the Conference Board’s annual Work Life meeting. This was my first trip to NOLA, and I was struck by the very open and raw appeals by New Orleanians for help, help from tourists, the Feds, and the state. From the President of Tulane University to our tour guide in the Garden District, everyone we met shared an openness about the need for concentrated and coordinated civic action to save their city. Well, a lot of cities need saving of some type. The Stimulus Package seemed very abstract to me until I got the email below from a local family services agency in my town.
What’s shovel ready in your neighborhood?
Today I got a note from the Medford MA Family Network, and incredible organization that helps so many families in my area. They asked citizens to contact lawmakers…
…to Keep Building a Future for Massachusetts’ Children!
* 15 years providing universal, comprehensive services for all families with children birth to 4.
* Parenting Education; Family Support; Play to Learn Parent/Child Interactive Groups; Basic Human Needs Supports; School Readiness Programs; Information and Referral.
* Collaborating with local businesses, community organizations and school systems; filling service gaps.
Line Item #3000-7050
Legislators that Serve Medford
Rep. Paul Donato (781) 395-1683
Rep. Carl Sciortino (617) 722-2400
Rep. Sean Garballey (617) 722-2400
Sen. Patricia Jehlen (617) 722-1578Please call them today to let them know how important the Medford Family Network is to you and your family!
About Me
Morra Aarons-Mele utilizes social media strategies to help employers, employees and communities connect. She also consults with leading organizations on how women can use the internet for professional and personal development. In her spare time, Morra enjoys blogging about women and politics. Read her full bio >>
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