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The new issue of the Mothers Movement Online is live at last! This edition offers expanded coverage of the MMO's central topic: the objectives and progress of the mothers' movement in the United States. New content includes a moving essay by Gretchen Hunt on why Immigration is a Mother's Issue, a non-nonsense piece by Lisa Frack (of Portland, Oregon Activistas fame) on the mothers' movement's strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, and an informative article by social work professor Arthur Emlen on working mothers' need for flexibility in multiple domains of daily life (Solving the Flexibility Puzzle). In my report and commentary, Power in a Movement, I describe recent developments in the middle-class "motherhood movement" and critique structural and conceptual gaps in the movement's expression -- and the expression of the progressive movement in general -- which are inconsistent with organizing mothers and others for effective change work. (As I explain in my Editor's Notes, I have a reputation in the mother's movement community as the person most likely to pose irritating and uncomfortable questions about the movement's organizational activities and goals. It's an unpopular job -- but someone's got to do it.)

In the Essays section, Kathleen Furin writes about the "Hot Moms" movement. While it's something of a relief to discover that moms are finally considered fuckable in the eyes of popular culture, Furin asks whether claiming our right to pursue hotness is truly a liberating trend for mothers, or simply adds a new twist to the culture of judgment and self-doubt that mothers are already subjected to (MILF: Is the Hot Moms Movement Really a Sign of Progress?). Also in Essays, returning contributor Jampa Williams offers an intensely personal account of the awakening of her opposition to the war in Iraq. Readers will also find short summaries of new resources on public policy, breastfeeding and the workplace; the real rate of economic insecurity among U.S. working families; and gender disparities in American's reports of anxiety about facing economic hardship (in Noteworthy). There are also new listings for several upcoming conferences on the Get Active page. Read and enjoy!

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The new issue of the Mothers Movement Online is live at last! This edition offers expanded coverage of the MMO's central topic: the objectives and progress of the mothers' movement in the United States. New content includes a moving essay by Gretchen Hunt on why Immigration is a Mother's Issue, a non-nonsense piece by Lisa Frack (of Portland, Oregon Activistas fame) on the mothers' movement's strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, and an informative article by social work professor Arthur Emlen on working mothers' need for flexibility in multiple domains of daily life (Solving the Flexibility Puzzle). In my report and commentary, Power in a Movement, I describe recent developments in the middle-class "motherhood movement" and critique structural and conceptual gaps in the movement's expression -- and the expression of the progressive movement in general -- which are inconsistent with organizing mothers and others for effective change work. (As I explain in my Editor's Notes, I have a reputation in the mother's movement community as the person most likely to pose irritating and uncomfortable questions about the movement's organizational activities and goals. It's an unpopular job -- but someone's got to do it.)

In the Essays section, Kathleen Furin writes about the "Hot Moms" movement. While it's something of a relief to discover that moms are finally considered fuckable in the eyes of popular culture, Furin asks whether claiming our right to pursue hotness is truly a liberating trend for mothers, or simply adds a new twist to the culture of judgment and self-doubt that mothers are already subjected to (MILF: Is the Hot Moms Movement Really a Sign of Progress?). Also in Essays, returning contributor Jampa Williams offers an intensely personal account of the awakening of her opposition to the war in Iraq. Readers will also find short summaries of new resources on public policy, breastfeeding and the workplace; the real rate of economic insecurity among U.S. working families; and gender disparities in American's reports of anxiety about facing economic hardship (in Noteworthy). There are also new listings for several upcoming conferences on the Get Active page. Read and enjoy!

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After more than a decade of fierce opposition split largely along party lines, the New Jersey Senate passed a bill yesterday to provide state workers with partial wage replacement for up to six weeks of family and medical leave. Governor Jon Corzine has promised to sign the bill, which was passed by the state Assembly on March 14, making New Jersey the third state in the nation to enact paid leave legislation (California was the first, with Washington State following suit in 2007). The legislation was sponsored and tirelessly championed by State Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) with grassroots support from a broad coalition of social justice, labor, and family & caregiver advocacy organizations, including New Jersey Citizen Action, ACORN, NOW NJ, National Family Caregivers Association, Mothers & More, and MomsRising. The final version of the bill passed by a 21-15 vote.

The January issue of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network newsletter includes a full-length interview with Ellen Bravo, author of Taking On The Big Boys and former director of 9to5 National Association of Working Women. It's a nice complement to the MMO's August 2007 interview with the author. For example, when asked how to develop more equality between men and women at home, Bravo responds:

I have a saying: "Housework is work to be done by those that live in the house." It’s not mom’s work that others do or don’t help her with. More men would be involved in the home if they weren’t punished for it at work, so we need to change workplace policies. Secondly, assuming that men acknowledge women’s equality, it needs to be clear that men and women are not equal if the work done at home isn’t equal. This doesn’t just refer to chores, it also refers to thinking, analyzing, and arranging. There also must be an acceptance that both jobs are important and that the man’s job doesn’t take precedence.

The Sloan Work and Family Research Network was established to support research and teaching, promote best practices at the workplace, and inform state policy on issues that affect the lives of working families and the places where they work.

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