Are you interested in joining an effort to improve the economic status of mothers and others who care for family dependents? Ann Critenden and a group of other writers and women's advocates, have started MOTHERS (Mothers Ought To Have Equal Rights). If you would like to sign up, email mothers@anncrittenden.com.

Do you have a good idea on how the cost of caring can be more equitably shared or lowered? Email ideas@anncrittenden.com.



What can you do to implement some of the ideas in The Price of
Motherhood?
Here are a few suggestions:

1) Be informed.
A great source of information is www.womensenews.org. You can register on this site to receive free, regular emails on the latest developments on issues concerning women. You can also get on the listserv of The National Partnership for Women and Families, an excellent source of information on state and national policies and legislation affecting women and children. The Partnership led the campaign for federal family and medical leave. It promotes fairness in the workplace, work/family policies, and quality health care, among other things. info@nationalpartnership.org.

Another peerless source of information is The Institute for Women's Policy Research, a public policy research group that produces first rate papers on every public policy issue of importance to women and their families. www.iwpr.org.

For information on older women's issues, contact the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) www.wiser@heinz.org. Also www.pensionaction.org.

2) Contact MOTHERS, a new action initiative.

As of September 2002, a group of mothers, writers, and women's advocates launched a new grassroots mothers' movement called MOTHERS (Mothers Ought To Have Equal Rights). Our website will be www.mothersoughttohaveequalrights.com. Check it out and learn how you can participate. Above all, send us your email address so that you can be part of our listserv and receive important notifications of actions and developments in our mission to improve the economic well-being of mothers and other caregivers.

3) Contact other groups that support and defend mothers' interests.
One is Mothers and More, a national mothers' organization with more than 100 chapters and 8,000 members around the country. Most are college-educated women who have cut back on their paid work to raise their children. Mothers and More offers a support network for "sequencing" mothers, and is developing a more active advocacy program. The website is www.mothersandmore.org. The advocacy director is at advocacy@mothersandmore.org. MOTHERS was launched under the auspices of the National Association of Mothers’ Centers (NAMC), a non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization with some 3,000 members and 40 centers around the country, particularly in the northeast and Colorado. See www.motherscenter.org to learn about the many support programs offered by the NAMC.

Another important national mothers’ organization is Mothers and More, which has more than 100 chapters and some 7,000 members.

For information on a women's advocacy group near you, or a national organization involved in issues of interest to you, check with The National Council of Women's Organizations, at www.womensorganizations.org.

4) Contact your state legislator and your member of Congress and let them know what you think!
Have you ever heard of the cockroach theory? What do you think immediately when you go into the kitchen and see a couple of cockroaches? There must be thousands more! This is exactly what legislators think when they hear from grassroots constituents -- for every letter or email they get, they assume there must be hundreds or more individuals out there who think the same way. Contacting your representatives can be extremely influential! Especially your state reps, who almost never hear from real people.

The vast majority of citizens never ask their government for anything. This gives great power to those who do. Women with young children are the least likely people of all to vote, or to write their representatives, or to make their needs known -- and that is exactly why so little is done to support them. Help put a stop to this now!

Here's a good way to start:

Contact the Women's Action Connectiv at www.womensaction.net/wacsubsc.html, to subscribe to a newsletter full of good information on women's issues currently up for consideration in Congress. For actions directed at Capitol Hill, you can find contact information for your member of Congress, including phone number and email address, at www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html and www.senate.gov/senators/
For information on state legislators and state initiatives, contact The National Conference of State Legislators. The organization's human services program tracks state efforts on a broad range of family policy issues, including child care. www.ncsl.org.

Also Women Legislators Lobby, a network of progressive female state legislators, at will@wand.org, or willpres@wand.org.

WAND (Women's Action for New Directions) is a grassroots group working to empower women politically to reduce violence and redirect resources toward human needs. www.wand.org.

Another exellent Women's Advocacy Organization is Legal Momentum, an advocacy organization based in New York City that uses legal action to defend women's rights. www.legalmomentum.org

Other Helpful Organizations and Web Sites

International
For information on progressive organizations around the world, check out the website of the Institute for Global Communications, www.igc.org. The idea is "connecting people who are changing the world." This site posts news, job and volunteer opportunities, and advocacy tips.

Women's Environment and Development Organization, an international advocacy group seeking to increase the power of women worldwide. www.wedo.org


more contacts:

What you can do
Action Links