It's Chaos Once Again
with new uncertainties and our attempt to create holiday magic despite all of it
How are you holding up? Its been quite a week as the Omicron variant rages across nations and like my friend Amy Nelson puts it, shoots across the sky, spreading rapidly across continents. Clearly, the world is not ready for all of this. I know for us as a family, its limiting our ability to partake in holiday activities, take the kids to their routine holiday market and parade. I know what this means for us as mothers, the additional unpaid labor and mental overload to ensure our family stay safe which may include additional cleaning, sanitizing, masking up, and dreaming up ways to keep the kids engaged at home. You are not alone. I absolutely wish we were making these scenarios up but we aren’t.
The big question that comes to mind is childcare. Luckily, my amazing mama friend Sara Mauskopf, Founder & CEO of Winnie shared some amazing insights earlier in the week.
As we head into Year 3 of the pandemic, I want you to know that you are absolutely the strongest humans I know. Navigating your career, work, relationships, well-being, and life in a relentless pandemic is a pretty big deal. Are we exhausted? yes Do we have enough support? Heck no. But, will we continue to push and press on? You bet.
In my last email, I mentioned my desire to bring us all into a community, I am still working on that, and I am hoping we can announce something in the new year. My goal for this community is not to network, it is to create real tools and resources that can support you in optimizing your home, work, and life. I am pretty excited about this and you should be too. Please stay tuned.
PS: If you are super organized, love creating systems and processes, lets chat - blessing@motherhonestly.com
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Here’s a run down of articles and news we found important and interesting at Mother Honestly this past week.
What can parents possibly be hiding?
If you guessed “The fact that they’re parents” you’re absolutely right!. The current reality of parenting and work is such that parents feel the need to hide their experience as parents from the workplace for fear of being treated differently. Mothers hide their pregnancies as long as they can and even after giving birth, never discuss it with their employers. Workplace culture needs to be one where the experience of parenthood is normalized. Employment should be flexible enough to include spaces and an enabling environment for childcare. Read more
Guess what industry is taking the lead with widening the gender pay gap?
“Although pay gaps across all industries have narrowed in the previous decades, almost all professions pay women less, and the gap is wider in health care than in some other professional industries”. Read more
With the pandemic still afoot, there’s a shortage of lots of things and what’s also on the list?
There’s a shortage of childcare workers which is essentially morphing into a crisis situation as the effects of this can be felt in the country’s overall economy. This lack of childcare workers is keeping parents out of jobs and worsening broader shortages in nearly every industry. President Joe Biden’s economic plan to provide government funding for preschool and daycare could be a potential boost. Read more
Mark your yearly calendar everyone! December the 7th has a new event!
Vice President Kamala Harris officially marked the White House’s first ever Maternal Health day of action on the 7th of December, 2021. Harris issued a nationwide call to action to both private and public sectors in a series of activities all aimed at improving maternal health in the U.S. In her opening remarks in the south court auditorium, she said “ In the United States, in the 21st century, being pregnant and giving birth should not carry such great risk. Women in our nation are dying — before, during and after childbirth” Read more
Which activists have teamed up to celebrate working moms ?
Activists and CEOs Lisa Curtis, Virginia Klausmeier and Emily Stone teamed up to celebrate working moms, and most importantly, to compel employers to step it up to help drive systemic change. With a recent grant received from social impact working groups, they are doing everything possible to ensure that the current progress that has been made with workplace equality does not rewind Question: What has been your experience? Read more Here and Here
What company is getting its first ever female chair?
It’s a new and exciting world for the Disney company’s board of directors as the company is getting a female chair for the first time in it’s 98 year history. Susan Arnold will replace Bob Iger on the 31st of December and there’s a lot to discover about her. Read more Here
What’s the 411 on maternity and paternity leave in the US?
“In the US, some companies such as Netflix, which offers both mothers and fathers up to the first year off, have made family leave a central part of their benefits package. However, There is still no federal maternity or paternity leave”. Read more Here. to find out what more companies are doing to foster a family friendly workplace.
How can employers set up working moms for success?
The pandemic laid bare the crisis women face in the workplace. “One in three women considered downshifting or leaving the workforce this year. In September alone, nearly 900,000 women reported being unemployed four times the number of unemployed men”. As organizations move forward with return-to-office plans, leaders have a chance to rewrite the playbook on how companies do things. Read more to find out how employers can set working moms up for success.
Apart from the pay gap, what’s one more gap between men and women that has widened?
According to a recent study, 60% of women who juggle work and caregiving responsibilities are now providing more care than before the pandemic. No wonder 75% of these workers/caregivers are experiencing a moderate or major increase in stress levels” This is one of the many reasons the burnout gap between men and women have doubled over the last year Read more
Are men unaware of how much work is required in the home?
Experts say one reason women report doing more house and child care work is not only because they actually do more — which is often true — but also because men are not always aware of all the work involved. That includes planning family activities and organizing appointments and even things like providing children with emotional support” Read more
Amidst the Taliban crisis, how are moms in Afghanistan navigating their survival and that of their kids?
The abrupt withdrawal of foreign aid following the Taliban victory has sent Afghanistan’s fragile economy into free fall, leaving millions facing hunger and making once well-off middle class families destitute. Not excluding Hadia Ahmadi, a 43-year-old mom and teacher who lost her job after the Taliban seized Afghanistan’s capital in August, and has resorted to sitting by the roadside trying to earn the equivalent of a few cents polishing shoes. Read more
Ever wondered how mothers with disabilities do this parenting thing? We found out for you
Mothers with disabilities often struggle to connect with others they can relate to, and share the ups and downs of having children. Disability affairs reporter Nas Campanella meets three vision impaired mothers finding their own way. Read more
YOU GOT THIS!
This newsletter was written by Blessing Adesiyan, Founder & CEO of Mother Honestly. My best wishes for a safe holiday. Send any home and workplace news, sponsorship and speaking opportunities + virtual networking invitations to hello@motherhonestly.com.