Did You Know?

• The "mommy tax" is the highest tax on families. A couple with a total income of $81,500, and two equally capable partners, will lose $1,350,000 in lifetime income if they have a child.
• The wage gap between mothers and childless women under age 35 is now greater than that between young men and women. Currently, 30-year-old American women without children earn 90% of men's wages, while mothers of the same age and education are making only 70%.
• Nannies qualify for Social Security benefits, but mothers at home do not. Unpaid caregivers are not covered by the same social safety net that covers other workers.
• Most mothers are "dependents" in marriage, not economic equals. They have no unequivocal right to half the family assets, and are not considered joint recipients of the family's income during or after marriage.
• Child support formulas do not even consider the biggest cost of having a child: the mommy tax. As a result, one-third to one-half of all divorced mothers have to go on welfare.
• Mothers' lack of financial equality in marriage deprives children; fathers are statistically less likely to spend their money on childrens' health and education.
• Immigration policy deliberately keeps skilled caregivers out of the country by classifying even trained nannies as "unskilled."
• Only 8 states have laws prohibiting discrimination against parents in the workplace.
• The U. S. is one of only 6 countries in the world that do not require paid maternity leave. The others are Australia, New Zealand, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea.

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Here's why momsrising.org is a staunch supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment through Equal Rights Alliance

Have You Been Discriminated Against Because You're a Mother?

Kristin Friday, Sep 21 2007 Have you ever been denied a job or a promotion because you are a mom? A new study shows that mothers are 79% less likely to be hired than others with equal resumes. Share your story so we can build understanding about why this is so damaging to families and must be stopped.

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A Peaceful Revolution

Joan Wednesday, Sep 12 2007 We have launched new blog that is crossposted at The HuffintonPost.com. It is about consciousness raising and culture change. Very few Americans realize that there is deep bias against mothers in this country and that we are undermining family's ability to care for children. I began to understand this a few years ago when I learned that equal pay for equal work is just as big a problem today as it was 40 years ago. I was shocked! Women without children now earn 90 cents to a man's dollar, mothers earn 73 cents, and single mothers earn about 60 cents to a man's dollar. A study done last year revealed that a mother is 79 percent less likely to be offered a job when all other factors -- including resumes, education, and job experience -- are equal. Ever wonder why there are so many women and children in poverty? Every wonder why there are so few women in leadership? Since over 80 percent of women become mothers I would say that women have a long way to go before they have equal opportunity in this country. Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner and I wrote The Motherhood Manifesto and launched www.MomsRising.org in 2006 and FamiliesRising.org in 2007 with policy and culture change in mind.