Why do I care?

Here are a few "fun facts" (no, really, they are NOT fun), that speak to the question I frequently get: "Why do you support the MomsRising agenda?"

Well, um, there are a few reasons, and www.MomsRising.org has a great little daily fact area at the bottom of their home page that highlights them. I'd like to see these facts more front and center because they get my motor going and I think they'll fire you up too. Here goes:

Statistics from 2001 reveal that a full one-quarter of families with children under age six earned less than $25,000. By working a 52-week full-time job without unpaid breaks, the federal minimum wage comes to $10,712 per year.

Among all of the moms in America, almost three-quarters have jobs outside of their homes (most, because they have to for financial survival).

American women now make up 46% of the entire paid labor force and 82% of all American women become mothers by the time they are forty-four years old.

All this adds up to a hell of a lot of working moms struggling desperately just to survive and provide for their kids. Can we at least PAY THEM FAIRLY (A study of hiring practices for high wage jobs in 2005 found mothers were offered $11,000 lower starting salaries than equally qualified non-mothers) and give them some paid time off for the birth of a baby (research reveals a full 25% of “poverty spells,” or times when income levels slip below what is necessary for basic needs, begin with the birth of a baby) so that they don't have to leave and then return to lower wages?

When women take time out of the workforce they face huge wage hits, or pay cuts, when they later return to the workforce (as 74% do within two years).

Naysayers of policies that help working moms may shout: "Stay home and take care of your kids for G-d's sake!" However, those lucky and/or noble moms that do stay home for three of more years to do this important work are punished. Women who stay out of the labor force for three or more years suffer a 37 % loss of earning power. The pay gap between mothers and non-mothers actually expanded from 10% in 1980 to 17.5% in 1991. A study found non-mothers made 90 cents to a man's dollar, moms made 73 cents to the dollar, and single moms made 56 to 66 cents to a man's dollar. By the way, men don’t take wage hits after having children, women do.

But here's the kicker (in case you think we're just talking about highly educated high earning working moms): If there wasn’t a wage gap, the poverty rates for single moms would be cut in half, and the poverty rates for dual earner families would be cut by about 25%.

That's where it gets me, really gets me, and where I have a hard time understanding anyone not supporting this agenda.

The "mommy wage gap" is directly correlated with our lack of family-friendly national policies like paid parental leave and subsidized child care.

Countries with paid parental leave also have lower infant mortality rates. In 2003, the U.S., which doesn’t have paid family leave, tied (38th place) with Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, and the United Arab Emirates in infant mortality rates. The U.S. is one of only five countries of 168 studied that doesn't mandate some form of paid maternal leave, putting us on par with Papua New Guinea, Lesotho, and Swaziland.
In order to maintain income levels. American parents today have to work 500 more hours a year than in 1979 just to keep up. Could we give them a few of these hours off to care for an infant for Pete's sake?

Paid parental leave often correlates with thriving children: One study found a year of job-protected paid leave is tied to 25 % fewer post-neonatal deaths.

Now let's look deeper, at what the kids are doing while their parents have to work so hard (due to no paid parental leave, the mommy wage gap (remember this gap affects a full 3/4 of the 46% of the workforce whom are women ("Among all of the moms in America, almost three-quarters have jobs outside of their homes")):

More than 40,000 kindergartners are home alone after school.

More than 14,000,000 kindergartners through twelfth grade kids are on their own after school without supervision.

Every $1 dollar spent on an at-risk youth in an after school program brings a return of $8.92 to $12.90.

By the time the average child gets to elementary school they will have viewed 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence on television.

Studies show kids who go to formal after school programs watch less television, have higher academic achievement, and better social adjustment. The peak time for juvenile crime is right after school gets out, which makes a compelling case for after school program options. What else can I say? Let's get some freaking dollars spent on after school programs!

And OH! the health care issue (Gasp! I may have a heart attack just revisiting these figures):

According to the World Health Organization, the U.S. spends more on health care per person than any other nation, yet still was only tied for the 28th highest life expectancy.

Half of all bankruptcy filings in 2001 were related to medical issues. (HALF!) There was a twenty-threefold (2,300 %) increase in medical-related bankruptcy filings between 1981 and 2001.

There were forty-six million uninsured Americans in 2004.

Child care in the U.S. costs between $4,000 to $10,000 a year for each child, with the costs rising for babies and special-needs kids. AND REMEMBER, statistics from 2001 reveal that a full 25% of families with children under age six earned less than $25,000. $10,000 a year for a family making less than $25,000 a year? Can you say bankruptcy? Poverty? Disgust?

Don't even get me started on childcare facilities. Okay, I'm started:

A study of child care in four states found "child care at most centers in the U.S. is poor to mediocre," with 12% providing care that could harm "children's health, safety, and development."

A study found that after 27 years, each $1 invested in quality child care for low-income children saved over $7 for the nation in the long run. Again, forget the morality (well, don't forget it). Let's talk economic sense!

Anyhoo, these are the facts that get my fire going. Rise up, compassionate mamas. Women all over the nation could use your help.