Sunday, May 13, 2007

What's a Mother's Worth?


By Riane Eisler
AlterNet.org

Friday 11 May 2007

This Mother's Day let's give mothers what they really need: a more secure old age.

This Mother's Day let's give mothers what they really need: a more secure old age. If you're a woman, or a man who cares about his mother, sister, or daughter, there's something you need to know. In the United States women over the age of 65 are twice as poor as men in the same age group.

There's a reason poverty so disproportionately hits women. Most of these elderly poor women were, or still are, caregivers - and according to most economists, the people who do the caring work in households, whether female or male, are "economically inactive." Of course, anyone who has a mother knows that most caregivers work from dawn to dusk. And we also know that without their work of caring for children, the sick, the elderly, and maintaining a clean home environment there would be no workforce, no economy, nothing. Yet current economic indicators and policies fail to include this work as "productive work."

The good news is that we can change this bizarre way of looking at what is, and is not, productive work. In fact change is already in the works. A 2004 Swiss government survey placed the value of the unpaid work in households at 70 percent of the reported Swiss GDP. And according to salary.com, a U.S. organization, the caring work of a mother is worth over $100,000 per year.

Recognizing the value of caring and caregiving is the first step. The next step is changing business practices and government policies to recognize and reward this work.

Of course, some people will argue this work should not be sullied by crass material considerations - that it should be done solely out of love. Certainly love plays a major factor in these activities. And so it should. But this does not change the fact that society derives enormous benefits from these activities, so much so that it could not function at all without them. Nor does it change the fact that the people who primarily perform these activities - women - have been condemned to be the mass of the world's poor.

Certainly we don't want wages for caring paid by the person - usually a man - where there are two parents. But we don't have to continue to penalize those who do the caring work for families, as we do today, by denying them benefits in their own right. Again, there is movement in this direction. When the new President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet was inaugurated, one of her first steps was a subsidy to poor women who are caregivers.

We too can - and must - give more visibility and value to caring work in families. There are many ways to do this - from social investment in good training for caregivers, caregiver tax credits, and social security for caregivers. Moreover, through flex-time, child care stipends, universal healthcare, paid parental leave, and other family-friendly workplace policies supported by governments and employers, both women and men can balance work inside and outside the home. This will give more men the opportunity to be closer to their children and give more women the opportunity to express and develop other aspects of their human potential, and at the same time also derive income from employment.

The devaluation of women and the "women's work" of caregiving is a pathology we must leave behind - not only for the sake of the female half of humanity but for us all. Indeed, only as we give real value and visibility to the work of caring and caregiving can we move forward to economic systems that truly care for the real wealth of nations: people and our natural environment.


Riane Eisler is the author of "The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics" and "The Chalice and The Blade: Our History, Our Future." She is also President of the Center for Partnership Studies.


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A Gift of Flexibility for Our Moms
By David Gray
TomPaine.com

Thursday 10 May 2007

This Sunday is Mother's Day and many of us will be out this week buying gifts for our moms. That is the right thing for us to do. As a nation, one way for our country to say "thank you" to our moms is by giving them more flexibility to balance their work and family commitments through creative public policies that increase workplace flexibility.

The changing roles of mothers have been one of the most pronounced social trends seen in the last century. Today, more than 60 percent of families have two working parents. Moms are working harder than ever both at home and at work.

Many women with children find it especially challenging to balance their work and family commitments, and often risk being left on the sidelines of the American economy because they cannot find flexible jobs. Accordingly, many women today are forced to choose between their career and economic success, on the one hand, and adequately caring for their children and elderly parents, on the other. Family breakdowns have also placed particular burdens on single mothers.

Given the unprecedented pressures on families, workers and employers, mothers need more control over their time and more flexibility in their work. Businesses are recognizing that more moms need flexibility in the workplace and many are giving it. Businesses should be applauded for that and encouraged to do more in providing workplace flexibility. Many more industries and companies could offer workplace flexibility than are doing so today.

Workplace flexibility is about innovations in how work gets done. It includes flexibility in the scheduling of full-time hours, flexibility in the number of hours worked and the location of work, career flexibility with multiple points for exit and re-entry into the work force and the flexibility to address unexpected and ongoing personal and family needs.

The implementation of flexible workplaces can be achieved without sacrificing employers' strategic business and organizational objectives. It does not have to mean businesses suffer. In fact, groups from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to Corporate Voices for Working Families maintain that flexible workplace arrangements can help businesses recruit and retain employees.

Well-implemented workplace flexibility policies increase organizational success by increasing employee commitment, engagement and job satisfaction. They promote innovations and management strategies that can lead to enhanced work outcomes, employee performance and morale, and help meet expanded employer needs in a global, competitive environment.

Workplace flexibility improves the lives of mothers by reducing tensions that arise from the dual obligations of work and family. It expands opportunities for working parents and those caring for aging relatives, for individuals transitioning careers and improving skills, for people with disabilities and for older workers looking to find meaningful work. It helps support child development and individual, family, community and environmental health.

As we look to honor our mothers this year, now is the time for creative public policy to develop ways to make the workplace more flexible in ways that work for employers and employees - and that honor and support our mothers. This Mother's Day, let's provide our moms with the workplace flexibility they need and deserve.


David Gray is Director of the Workforce and Family Program at the New America Foundation.

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