Payback Time: Gift Yourself & Moms Leading Forward For Mother’s Day
With these gift ideas, help celebrate Mother’s Day for yourself or your favorite working mom.
The pandemic has been particularly difficult for women with children in the workforce. Over more than a year of economic uncertainty, remote work, remote learning for children and largely unavailable childcare, women have toasted two Mothers Days—2020 and 2021.
It is time to celebrate the mothers among us who are facing, meeting and managing these challenges.
“Over more than a year of economic uncertainty, #remotework, remote learning for children and largely unavailable #childcare, women have toasted two #MothersDays—2020 and 2021. It is time to #celebrate the #mothers among us who are facing and managing these challenges. ”
Read more in Take The Lead on working mothers
“In March 2021, almost 1.5 million fewer moms of school-aged children were actively working than in February 2020, according to Misty Heggeness, principal economist and senior adviser at the Census Bureau. During the depths of last year’s economic crisis, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show, women’s participation in the workforce fell to levels not seen since the mid-1980s,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Of course, all women are affected by the slowdown, and all women are key to the recovery.
CBS reports, “More than 1.8 million women have left the labor force since the start of the pandemic, leading to the lowest labor participation rate since 1988, per the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly jobs report. In March 2021, women gained about 315,000 jobs, but at that rate it would take 15 months for women's employment to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels, according to data compiled by the National Women's Law Center.”
Read more in Take The Lead on paid family leave
“Women shouldn’t have to choose between building a family and a fulfilling career and yet, many have had to over the past year,” says Georgene Huang, CEO & Co-Founder of Fairygodboss, that recently offered insights into which companies are best for working parents.
““Women shouldn’t have to choose between building a family and a fulfilling career and yet, many have had to over the past year,” says @GeorgeneHuang, CEO & Co-Founder of @Fairygodboss. #workingmother #MothersDay”
“By increasing transparency about benefits and how mothers are treated in the workplace, I hope fewer women have to make that choice, but instead can have and succeed in both. We’re already seeing many changes happen such as more flexible work options (including remote work and adjusted hours) and increases to paid parental leave, but we won’t have true workplace gender equality until these options are available to everyone, everywhere,” Huang tells Take The Lead.
Read more in Take The Lead on issues for working moms
“Working women, and especially mothers, are burnt out. After over a year of managing their careers, household responsibilities and homeschooling, caring for family or children, on top of the general stresses of the pandemic, working moms have taken on more than they can possibly handle,” Huang says. “Unfortunately, these increased demands at home have forced many women to put their careers on pause, and for some they don’t know when or if they’ll be able to return.”
““#Workingwomen, and especially mothers, are burnt out. After over a year of managing their careers, household responsibilities and homeschooling, caring for family or children, on top of the general stresses of the #pandemic, #workingmoms have taken on more than they can possibly handle,” @GeorgeneHuang says.”
“And for those that remain in the workforce, many women have taken on additional work and are working longer hours, without any sort of increased pay, title change, or end in sight.”
Consider giving back to your favorite mom—or to yourself—this Mother’s Day with this short, curated selection of useful, inspiring and uplifting offerings.
Gift her a favorite power tool to wear around her neck. The Leadership Power Tools® Collection, designed by Joan Hornig for Take The Lead, is a pendant in sterling silver on an adjustable 14" - 18" sterling silver vermeil chain representing each of the 9 Leadership Power Tools, symbolizing different tools for female advancement towards gender parity in leadership. From the key symbolizing “Use What You’ve Got,” to the light bulb symbolizing embracing controversy, you can select a pendant that matches the style, intention and mission of your favorite working mom or for yourself. Proceeds go to Take The Lead ‘s work for gender parity in leadership, including leadership training, mentorship and coaching that have been proven effective in accelerating all women’s careers. Your purchase will help Take The Lead provide training and coaching for women whose lives and livelihoods have been disrupted by COVID.
“For #MothersDay this year, gift her a pendant from The Leadership Power Tools® Collection, designed by @JoanHornig that represents each of the 9 #LeadershipPowerTools. Your purchase will help @Takeleadwomen provide resources for women whose lives have been disrupted by #COVID.”
Watch a video on Take The Lead’s new jewelry
Give the gift of understanding herself. In her critically acclaimed new book, You Are What You Risk: The New Art and Science of Navigating An Uncertain World, international bestselling author Michele Wucker dives into diagnosing and understanding your own risk fingerprint.This book is “a clarion call for an entirely new conversation about our relationship with risks and uncertainty. In this ground-breaking accessible and eminently timely book, Wucker examines why it’s important to understand your risk fingerprint and how to make better risk choices,” according to book release materials. What better timing for strategies to understand how you manage uncertainty than in these uncertain times?
Give her a head start on what companies are best for working moms and all women. According to research from Fairygodboss, “KinderCare is offering a free day of childcare to anyone who has been impacted by the pandemic, to use when they have interviews, important meetings, or simply need a day to focus. Accenture tripled dependent care hours, moved almost all of their consultants remote, and offered caregivers reimbursement for in-home care (up to $100 per day for up to 30 days). Elastic has given employees every other Friday off. Sofi, Salesforce, and PwC are giving their employees access to mental health and wellbeing resources. Avanade is launching alternative workweek patterns and considering new ways of working. The company is also programming wellbeing weeks once a month to help employees manage the stress associated with working through a pandemic.”
Inform her on how to claim her space. In her new book, A Woman’s Guide To Claiming Space: Stand Tall, Raise Your Voice, Be Heard, Eliza VanCort offers a wealth of answer and powerful inspiration, that also aligns keenly with the mission of Take The Lead. The founder of The Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca, and a Cook House Fellow at Cornell University, Van Cort offers strategies and decodes the secrets of claiming space. Offering the framework of five claims, she advises to claim physical space by communicating powerfully with your voice; claim space collaboratively by creating networks that break ceilings and advance careers; claim your right to space by stopping self-sabotage and imposter syndrome; claim safety in any space by stopping aggressor and protecting yourself from mansplaining, interruptions and microaggressions and claim space united by committing to making the world a better place for women regardless of identity, race, views or religion. “It is for every woman who recognizes that we can’t have a space claiming revolution with a one-woman army and knows when we rise together, we rise so much higher,” VanCort writes. “It is for every woman.”
“This #MothersDay, give her the gift of learning how to #claimspace. In her new book, “A Woman’s Guide To Claiming Space: Stand Tall, Raise Your Voice, Be Heard,” @ElizaVancort offers a wealth of answer and powerful inspiration, that also aligns with the mission of @Takeleadwomen. ”
Give her a t-shirt with momentum. Take The Lead partners with Michael Stars on the the Wom=n Tee designed for Equal Pay Day and the forever mission to achieve gender parity, fairness and equity in leadership across all sectors. Sales of the t-shirt will benefit those who participate in Take The Lead’s programs for up to $25,000.
“This #MothersDay, give her a t-shirt with momentum. @Takeleadwomen partners with Michael Stars on the the Wom=n Tee designed for Equal Pay Day and the forever mission to achieve #genderparity, fairness and #equity in leadership across all sectors.”
Certainly, Mother’s Day is only one day a year and every day mothers working in and outside of the home need support.
Fairygodboss’ Huang is positive about the future. “To create a better future for working mothers, we need to speak up when we see discrimination or areas that need to be improved in our own workplaces today,” she says.
“Fairygodboss’ @GeorgeneHuang is positive about the future. “To create a better future for #workingmothers, we need to #speakup when we see discrimination or areas that need to be improved in our own workplaces today,” she says. #MothersDay2021”
“Aside from advocating for flexible policies a great example is advocating to implement an inclusive paid parental leave policy. By allowing all caregivers to take time away from work, the burdens of childcare and the, unfortunately, often accompanying career setbacks, are no longer placed on mothers, but are more equally distributed between both parents.”
