MOTHERS RIGHTS
GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT
From The National Association of Mothers' Centers

MOTHERS is a grassroots initiative that seeks to improve caregivers' economic status by calling attention to their essential contribution to the economy and to society. The initiative was launched in 2002 by a group of mothers, writers, and women's advocates around the country. The founders include Ann Crittenden, author of The Price of Motherhood; Naomi Wolf, author of Misconceptions, Barbara Seaman, a nationally recognized women's health advocate, and the National Association of Mothers' Centers, a non-profit, non-partisan organization with some 3,000 members and 40 mothers' support centers throughout the U.S.

MOTHERS will use its website (www.mothersoughttohaveequalrights.com) to mobilize grassroots actions on behalf of caregivers. The site will serve as a clearinghouse to inform supporters about other interested people in their area, to publicize initiatives taken by other grassroots mothers' groups around the country, to suggest coordinated local campaigns, and to enable supporters to quickly contact their state and national legislators on key issues. We are working to have mothers' work and contributions recognized.

In the past few decades women have made enormous progress, but many women who become mothers have been left behind. The work of caring for children and other dependent family members is still unpaid or grossly underpaid, disrespected, and unacknowledged by all of the major institutions in our society. Neither the workplace, family law, nor government puts much, if any, economic value on the all-important work of caring for others. Motherhood has become the single greatest risk factor for poverty in America. The United States has the highest rate of maternal and child poverty of any advanced country. Millions of middle class mothers are economic dependents, despite the fact that they are the primary producers of our most important source of national wealth: our future citizens, taxpayers, and workers.

Log on to www.mothersoughttohaveequalrights.com  and let us know who you are. Spend a few moments answering our "What Are You Worth?" survey, whether you work inside and/or outside the home. You may be surprised by the actual value of all your unpaid labor. Help spread the word. This is the start of something big.

Editors Note: The National Association of Mothers' Centers headquarters is in Levittown, LI, New York. www.motherscenter.org