Motherhood Is a Job: 50 Prominent Women Run Ad Calling on President Biden to Implement Marshall Plan for Moms in First 100 Days by 30Seconds Mom


Motherhood Is a Job: 50 Prominent Women Run Ad Calling on President Biden to Implement Marshall Plan for Moms in First 100 Days

Fifty women signed a letter in the New York Times, led by Girls Who Code founder and CEO Reshma Saujani, calling on the Biden Administration to create a task force dedicated to implementing a "Marshall Plan for Moms," to pay mothers for their unpaid, unseen labor and to pass policies addressing parental leave, affordable child care and pay equity.

"This pandemic has absolutely decimated the careers of working moms across the country," said Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code. "This is not an isolated incident – it is a national crisis, and we can start to address it within the first 100 days of this Administration."

According to a report from the National Women's Law Center, more than two million women have left the U.S. workforce since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. A December 2020 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that women were leaving the workforce at four times the rate of men.

"In December, all the jobs lost in the U.S. economy were lost by women," said Saujani. "And the situation is particularly bad for black women, 154,000 of whom left the workforce entirely. We need to put in place a plan for moms, and we need it now."

"Sound crazy? It's not," says the letter, which ran as a full page ad in The New York Times. "It's time to put a dollar figure on our labor. Motherhood isn't a favor and it's not a luxury. It's a job. The first 100 days are an opportunity to define our values. So let's start by valuing moms."

The women who signed onto the letter are as follows:

  1. Toyin Ajayi, Cityblock Health
  2. Katia Beauchamp, Birchbox
  3. Katie Bethell, Paid Leave for the U.S.
  4. Connie Britton, actor 
  5. Jean Brownhill, Sweeten
  6. Tarana Burke, "me too.'" Movement
  7. Melissa Butler, The Lip Bar
  8. Claudia Chan, S.H.E. Summit
  9. Julia Collins, Planet FWD
  10. Dr. Dara Kass, ER physician and professor
  11. Tiffany Dufu, The Cru
  12. Anu Duggal, Female Founders Fund
  13. Sarah Eagle Heart, Eagle Heart Collective
  14. Crystal Echo Hawk, Executive Director, IllumiNative
  15. Sarah Sophie Flicker, artist and activist
  16. Liuba Grechen Shirley, Vote Mama
  17. Mindy Grossman, WW International, Inc.
  18. Desiree Gruber, Full Picture
  19. Sarah Harden, Hello Sunshine
  20. Naomi Hirabayashi, Shine
  21. Chelsea Hirschhorn, Frida Mom
  22. Jennifer Hyman, Rent the Runway
  23. Payal Kadakia, Classpass
  24. Sallie Krawcheck, Ellevest
  25. Maria Teresa Kumar, VotoLatino
  26. Marisa Renee Lee, Beacon Advisors
  27. Cindi Leive, The Meteor
  28. Marah Lidey, Shine
  29. Eva Longoria, actor
  30. Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood
  31. Paola Mendoza, artist, filmmaker and activist
  32. Alyssa Milano, actor
  33. Julianne Moore, actor
  34. Ana Ortiz, actor
  35. Hitha Palepu, #5SmartReads
  36. Dee Poku, The WIE Suite
  37. Mónica Ramirez, activist and organizer
  38. Geena Rocero, Transgender Advocate
  39. Eve Rodsky, Author, Fair Play
  40. Katherine Ryder, Maven
  41. Reshma Saujani, Girls Who Code
  42. Amy Schumer, actor
  43. Rachel Sklar, TheLuckiest.com
  44. Tabitha St. Bernard-Jacobs, Women's March Network
  45. Amber Tamblyn, actor
  46. Charlize Theron, actor
  47. Salamishah Tillet, A Long Walk Home
  48. Gabrielle Union, actor
  49. Alexa von Tobel, Inspired Capital
  50. Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble

For more information, visit MarshallpPlanForMoms.com.

The full text of the full page ad in The New York Times reads as follows:

Dear President Biden:

You know this well: moms are the bedrock of society. And we're tired of working for free.

We need a Marshall Plan for Moms – now.

Like the original Marshall Plan of 1948, this plan would be a financial investment in rebuilding from the ground up.

COVID has decimated so many of our careers. Two million of us have left the workforce, at a rate of four times that of men in September alone. Millions more have been forced to cut back our hours or work around the clock to keep our jobs and be full-time caregivers.

This is not an isolated incident – it is a national crisis. You didn't create this problem, but your administration has an opportunity to fix it. In your first 100 days, we're asking you to:

Establish a task force to create a Marshall Plan for Moms.

Implement a short-term monthly payment to moms depending on needs and resources.

Pass long overdue policies like paid family leave, affordable childcare and pay equity.

Sound crazy? It's not.

It's time to put a dollar figure on our labor. Motherhood isn't a favor and it's not a luxury. It's a job.

The first 100 days are an opportunity to define our values. So let's start by valuing moms.

Take 30 seconds and join the 30Seconds community. Inspire and be inspired.

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Donna John
This is awesome!!
Elisa Schmitz
"women are leaving the workforce at four times the rate of men" - WOW. Staggering statistic. While all stay-at-home parents should be included, it is crazy how the pandemic has disproportionally affected women. So good to see these women leaders taking a stand!

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