Activistas

Mama PhD: A Review by Bob Drago

I had no children while in grad school, and couldn't figure how the ones who did pulled it off.  It would have been an entirely different experience.  Of course, everything is an entirely different experience once you have kids! 

Some of the ones who've been there share insights and experiences in a new anthology on the parenting academics topic called Mama PhD: Women Write About Motherhood and the Academic Life that might just be worth a glance if you're considering a life in academia, or if you're already there and wondering how to make it all work (or at least commiserate a little).  Here's a casual and very positive review by Bob Drago of Take Care Net (an academic himself):

This is easily the most important piece of work to date on academics and family issues, full-stop, because the editors draw out from the authors all of the messiness, the highs and lows, the fears and hopes, the pride, guilt, anger, love and sense of failure and accomplishment and mainly great stories that comprise life for so many moms who try to make it as academics. The panopoly of supportive or unkind department chairs and colleagues, high and low status schools, childcare arrangements that work or don't work, supportive or non-existent partners, and perfect and not-so-perfect children is all here.

If you know a young woman or man contemplating kids and an academic careers, please get this book into their hands; it doesn't preach, but it will give them a good sense of their potential futures and how they might better shape those paths. There are a few common threads (but not many, and they are not the major point of the work, IMHO). The internal and external pressures of both the ideal worker and motherhood norms in modern-day, middle class America, that many of us study, are here writ large, with more than one author complaining of guilt over family when at work and guilt over work when with family.

Talkin' About Working Moms...on CNN

Now I know I live in a tiny little bubble.  Every once in a great while I cast my gaze above the Portland clouds to listen to what the rest of America has to say.  It helps me understand American politics and culture.  And usually makes me want to pull my head right back down under the cloud layer.

This time the gals over at Moms Speak Up directed me to a conversation on CNN about working motherss staying afloat - which is about where I'm at.  No beautiful butterfly stroke for this mama.  The discussion was kick started by a post in which CNN's on-staff moms discuss how they juggle journalism and motherhood.  I'll bet the moms over at The O's Mom Beat are reading it, too.  They talk frankly about what it's like, and America is - not surprisingly - talkin' back.  Fascinating stuff.  Eye-opening.  Prepare yourself.  There are some reasonable voices to be found in the mix, I must say.  In among the 'you oughtta be at home, woman' comments.  My, my.  Is it 2008?  Happily, it is inside my little bubble.

Working Mamas, Have Your Say!

For all our working mamas out there, here is a chance to have your say!  We know how challenging it is, balancing work and family, especially without much support in the way of job flexibility, paid leave, childcare, and all the other things that make working and mothering easier.  Working America and AFL-CIO are conducting a Ask a Working Woman Survey so they can hear more from you about what you want.  Women's rights organizations and unions across the country will use the results to lobby for more of what working women need.  Please, for all our working mamas out there, take a few minutes and tell them what it's really like doign the work-family juggle. 

Take the survey.  The more reality we inject into this conversation, mamas, the better.

Calling all Part-time Working Parents!

I love that there's an organization called A Better Balance that works solely to improve this whole work-family balance conundrum.  They describe themselves this way:

A Better Balance is a legal advocacy organization dedicated to empowering individuals to meet the conflicting demands of work and family without sacrificing their economic security.    We are engaging government and the private sector to bring about systemic change.  Since 2005, we have been working to help people across the economic spectrum care for their families without losing their jobs or suffering other discrimination because of their family responsibilities.  Workers should not have to face impossible choices between earning a paycheck and caring for their loved ones.

Like, I couldn't have said it better myself, mamas.  So when they come calling, I wanna help.  And they are calling.  They are asking people who work a reduced schedule to complete a questionnaire about their experiences, which they describe like this:

Parents for Paid Leave Group Meets this Saturday! Join Us.

Think paid family leave should be available to working families in Oregon?  Good news, mamas, because our newly formed Parents for Paid Leave group is meeting for our 2nd time this Saturday, 5.10.08 from 9:30 to 11 AM.  We'll be at Jennifer's house in SE Pdx - 4423 SE 30th Avenue (1 block N of Holgate) to be exact. 

Our first meeting was incredibly productive for three reasons:

1. We named ourselves (nobody is anybody without a catchy name, already),
2. We agreed to meet monthly until the next legislative session when, by the way, we plan to pass a bill, and
3. We got the sense that there are quite a few of us who feel VERY STRONGLY that our state require paid family leave. 

So... after we meet, greet, drink some coffee and get the kids occupied (first things first!) we have a loose agenda that includes: an overview of other states' programs and the current national and federal employee proposals, identifying Oregon opponents & partners, and outreach opportunities.  And anything else that pops up.

Can't Make It?  Catch us in June or July or August or, you get the picture.  We agreed to meet the 2nd Saturday morning of every single month, plus we'll report out here on Activistas if you prefer to keep tabs that way.  And you can always read all the terrifically enlightening things we've said on this topic by perusing our Working Parents index.

Wanna Learn More?  If you're the type to get the details for yourself, check out the National Partnership for Women & Families, they've got it covered.  You can even hear Senator Chris Dodd (bless him) and Debra Ness, Executive Director of NPWF (and definitely bless her), discuss the issue on Good Morning America back in September 2007.

See you Saturday, mamas.  Families need paid leave.  Help us make it a reality.

Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008: We Need Oregon Co-Sponsors

I have said on occasion that Moms Rising doesn't always speak to me, but on the proposed federal legislation for a national paid family leave program, they're workin' it and I couldn't be happier to hear from them.  This is a big one, mamas, so quick, like now, ask our Congressional delegation to co-sponsor the just-introduced Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008.  Voting for it when (if!) the time comes is one thing, mamas, but co-sponsoring it would make me feel truly represented all those miles away in our nation's capital. 

Moms Rising says we real-live mamas are a make-it-or-break-it force on this one, and I believe it.  They also acknowledge that 'it's going to take some heavy lifting to get the co-sponsors and momentum this bill needs to pass.'  So step right up and e-mail your U.S. Senators and Representatives NOW and ask them to co-sponsor this bill.  Hello Senator Smith?  Wyden?  Earl?  David?  We're asking you to represent us, your Oregon mamastituents, on this one.  Anyone gonna be a leader on this one?  It's not only the right thing to do, it's a smart political move, too.  Win-win.

What would the bill do?  Some impressive stuff, mamas:

1. Provide all workers with 12 weeks of paid leave over a 12-month period to care for a new child, provide for an ill family member, treat their own illness, or deal with an exigency caused by the deployment of a member of the military;
2. Provide these benefits through a new trust fund that is financed equally by employers and employees, who will each contribute 0.2% of the employee's pay;
3. Progressively tier the benefits so that a low wage worker (earning less than $30,000) will receive full or near full salary replacement, middle income workers ($30,000- $60,000) receive 55% wage replacement, and higher earners (over $60,000) receive 40-45%, with the benefit capped at approximately $800 per week;
4. Administer the program through the Department of Labor which will contract with states to administer the program (similar to how the Unemployment Insurance program is run);
5. Allow states and businesses with materially equivalent or better benefits to opt-out of the program.

And, if you're a diehard, don't forget to RSS the bill's progress so you know what's happening and when to jump in.  Once our IT division sorts it out, we'll have a nifty little bill tracker on the site, but till then, mamas, you'll just have to get your own feed!

Leading Feminist Shocked at Existing Opportunities for Working Parents

To celebrate the end of buy nothing month, I bought a new book on May 1st (not that I was, say, counting the days or anything).  And I wish I could tell you it was about gardening or mummies or poetry.  Nope, much better! I couldn't resist Amy Richards' most recent book, Opting In: Having a Child Without Losing Yourself, which the publisher describes like this:

Richards addresses the anxiety over parenting that many women face, in a book that mixes memoir, interviews, historical analysis, and feminist insight. Speaking as both a parent and a leading feminist activist, Richards encourages women to forge their own path while staying true to their ideals.

Scintillating, right?   So, before I could even read the first paragraph (which may well be all I ever read!), I saw it written up and the author interviewed on Business Week's Working Parents blog.  I wonder what you make of this Q and A with her:

Too Many P/T Women Docs: What To Do?

One of my many obsessions these days is work-family balance.  We've discussed it here before, many a time.  We all want it, but to get it our employers have to offer it.  One profession I have always observed to be totally off-balance is doctors.  I have a close friend who is right now trying to reduce her hours as a hospital pediatrician.  No easy task.  Very inflexible employer.  Not unique to hospitals, though. 

But recently the notion was floated in Britain that what with all these mama docs asking for  - and often getting - reduced hours, there's a crisis in capacity.  The docs are all home picking their kids up from school and doing homework (like I want to do, call me crazy)!  Or like another mama doc friend of mine, working two days/week and earning enough to call it good.  Apparently more men MD's will still work full-time, but not as many hours as in times past.  What to do?  Since I'm no medical professional (just glad to be an insured patient, frankly), I will rely on the Business Week's Working Parents blog, which first brought this up and quotes the English study:

Join Us: We're Gonna Pass Paid Leave in '09

All of the sudden it's better in New Jersey.  Ouch. If parents there will now benefit from paid leave, what about parents here?   It's bad enough that our neighbors to both the north and south have beaten us to this, but now New Jersey?  Clearly it's time to play catch up.  And that's where we come in, mamas.  Seem early to be talking about '09 politics?  Not if the opposition is already. meeting. monthly.  Yeah, you heard me.  Monthly.  Already.  So what are we waiting for?  Uh, we're not. 

That's right.  A group of us die-hards met last Saturday at Isabel's house in SE Portland to get this ball rolling.  A big thanks to Regan Gray for taking her time to fill us in on the Salem view of what happened in '07 and where it stands now.  Intrigued?  Good.  Join us next month.  We liked the opposition's idea of meeting monthly, so we'll be strategizing on the 2nd Saturday of every month till the bill is passed.  If we talk a big game, maybe we are a big game.  That's the hope, anyway. 

Join Us. We meet again on Saturday 5.10.08 from 9 - 10:30 AM.  Mark your calendar and check back for the location.  RSVP in the comments.  And don't forget to bring your kids  - that way mine will have someone to play with!  Plus, we're gonna have a catchy name.  Something like: Oregon parents for paid leave.  You like?  Got a better one?  Do tell.  We feel strongly that the grassroots should be involved in this planning effort.  We're also fully prepared to bring it on home - we'll e-mail, call, testify, bring our own paid leave stories to Salem. Whatever it takes, mamas, whatever it takes.

The Work-Life Coach: Able to Deliver the Coveted Balance?

I love the idea of someone else sorting out the chaos of my life.  Figuring out how to get my boss to approve me working fewer hours, how to pay the bills earlier than midnight and not at work, how to keep the family health insurance yet spend more time with my kids!  Seems too good to be true, doesn't it?  Maybe not! 

An article in last week's Washington Post tells of a 3-time mama who scores a 3 and 1/2 day a week schedule with the help of just such a ($75/hour!) coach.  And they're not just available in DC, mamas.  Just north of P-town (yeah, it's in Seattle) is Quest for Balance.  San Francisco has Flexperience.  And 10 til 2, out of Denver since 2003, has eight franchises around the country and is expanding...fast (interested in running a franchise?).

What about Portland?  With all the interest in more flexible and meaningful part-time work among parents, it seems these services would thrive in Portland.  Maybe Portland Mamas, Inc. would know?  I say that because according to the Post article, "with few exceptions, the entrepreneurs in this emerging field know their customers because they belong to the same demographic."  Mamas helping mamas solve a problem.  I like that.

Ready for a Work-Life Coach? I grew up in a family where we were supposed to sort things out for ourselves, but in my adult life I've happily realized that a little professional guidance now and then can be a great thing.  So I'm wondering if it would be a wise investment (at $75/hour it is an investment!) to help sort out some work-family balance challenges, do some future career planning?  I'm tempted, mamas, because the crux of the problem - lack of time - can also be what stands smack in the way of managing it better.