I write today not just as the head of WCF, but also as a mother of three.
Long before I entered politics, motherhood quickly introduced me to daily, even hourly, worries about affordable child care, equal pay, and education. I wondered why so many women had to fight for maternity leave--some forced to choose between their livelihood and their child.
So now as the President/CEO of the Women's Campaign Forum and having spent some time in politics, I'm here to tell you this: Mothers need more women in government.
For Mother's Day this year, I'm asking WCF supporters to do two things:
1. TAKE ACTION: Tell your member of Congress that moms need more women in government - urge them to make recruiting and supporting women candidates a priority.
2. Have some fun. Celebrate the greatness moms all around the country by sharing this customizable video from MomsRising.org. Short and punchy, the video features the mother of your choice in a faux news story as a winner of the "Mother of the Decade."
Moms need more women in government because female legislators more often address issues specifically related to mothers, child care, education, and families.
According to the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), "Elected women are working to make the agenda of legislative institutions more reflective of women's concerns stemming from their roles as caregivers in the family and in society more generally."
If we want to see real progress and focus on issues like children's health, maternity and paternity leave, family planning, education, and affordable child care, we must start by supporting more women to seek public office.
I wish all moms across the country a wonderful Mother's Day - I hope we can all work together to make sure that all the "Mother's of the Decade" are fully taken care of in our government.
Follow Sam Bennett on Twitter: www.twitter.com/WCFonline
