mother's day.

according to recent studies,
if we paid stay-at-home moms
a salary commensurate with their duties,
then they’d earn $117,000 a year.

meanwhile, mothers out in the workforce
continue to face a more than 20% pay gap,
& working women with children earn another
7 - 14% less than their childless peers.

so while a grocery-store bouquet, bag o’ candy
& some homemade cards are nice once a year
[ok, woefully inadequate – but well-intentioned],
wtf is happening the other 364 days?

i am enough,
but apparently not quite enough
to be compensated appropriately for my contributions –
to the company, to the family, to the world?

representing that crazy hybrid, the work-at-home mama,
please permit me to respond to that bullsh*t with a big old HMPH.

gender inequality is a cultural conundrum
developed over the history of the world.
so, just like the baby weight, it won’t be shed overnight.
or maybe even over our lifetimes.

but, also like the baby weight, it can be shed,
& it begins with baby steps. our baby steps.

here’s an inspiring idea from jennifer siebel,
ceo & founder of missrepresentation.org:

before we give a woman coming into the room the once-over
& before we feel threatened by another woman’s accomplishments,
let’s pause, dig down deep & see where those judgments begin:

the assumption of scarcity & the sense that there isn’t enough for all of us.

reject those thoughts, & rather, celebrate the fact
that we are all in this together –
that one woman’s success is a success for us all.

in accepting these feelings of abundance & connection,
& incorporating them into our lives,
we pave the path for a more just & equitable future for everyone.

dear mamas,
you do enough.
you are enough.

& there is enough –
room, money, opportunity, respect, happiness, success –
for every one of us.

so let’s start acting like it &
begin the change ourselves, for ourselves.

& if you like, then you can
put down the cookie, too, while you’re at it.

happy mother’s day.


image source: cutestlife.com.