A Stand for Our Mothers is a Stand for Our World

"The best way to care for the children of our world is to care for their mothers." n ~Kimberly KingnnDear Friends of Peace, Mother's Day is a time to honor the immeasurable value and contribution of Mothers, and to celebrate our own Mother and those who have nurtured us throughout our lives. It's a time to say thank you for innumerable sacrifices and express our gratitude for the incomparable gift of mother's love. If we truly wish to demonstrate our regard for Motherhood, and our goal is to support mothers every day not just on Mother's Day, we must do more than offer cards and gifts, as important as that is. We must also offer mothers our daily encouragement and practical assistance, and we must support public policies that make children and mothers a priority in our nation and in our world. Despite our compassion and prosperity, the status of mothers and children in the United States is tragic.nnDid you know... A full 25% of U.S. families with children less than six years old live in poverty.

• Nine million children are without healthcare coverage and millions more are under-insured.n n
• Fourteen million children are unsupervised after school every day. At least 40,000 of these are kindergartners due to a lack of affordable after-school programs.n n
• In a Harvard study of over 170 countries, the U.S. was one of only four nations without any form of paid leave for new mothers. (The others were Liberia, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea.)n n
• Women without children make 90 cents to a man’s dollar, but mothers make just 73 cents, and single mothers make even less -- about 60 cents to a man’s dollar.n n
• Mothers are 79% less likely to be hired than equally qualified non-mothers.n n
• Of the twenty most competitive economies in the world, the U.S. is the only one that does not require employers to provide paid sick days.

nThese statistics are eye-opening and dismal, and call for rigorous transpartisan deliberation and immediate action. Regardless of our political position, we must stand for our nations' mothers.nn"All mothers are working mothers." We also affirm and applaud the millions of stay-at-home moms. Their commitment is a noble one, and we give our encouragement and full support to these mothers as well. We recognize, however, that three quarters of American mothers are now in the labor force. With seventy-five percent of our moms at work, it's time our attitudes, policies and workplaces match the dynamics of today's American family. Morally this is the right thing to do. It also makes common sense. To have a healthy economy we must also have healthy families, and each of us plays a critical role. It is time for America to wake up and meet the needs of mothers and families in our country. Non-Partisan groups like MomsRising.org and others are working to educate and mobilize the public to bring about this change. We invite you to join in support of this effort. (*statistics and info above found at www.momsrising.org). In these challenging times, the importance of caring for our nation's mothers is even more critical. On this Mother's Day, may we remember our moms and celebrate them with a special awareness of how lucky we are to have them. And may we extend some of our energy, creativity and philanthropy toward strategies and policies that support women and children worldwide, recognizing that when we lift up a family anywhere, we lift up the entire world.nn~ ~ ~nn(Other information and resources related to supporting mothers is available via the National Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Coalition and United Nations Population Fund)