MOTHERS Book Bag

Wrapping it up at The Big Tent: Cracks in the Glass Ceiling

The last session I attended at the Big Tent was Cracks in the Glass Ceiling a panel discussion with Jehmu Greene, Political Director of WomenCount, who I met the day before at the Women Count in the 2008 Election session . Also on the panel was Marie Wilson of the White House Project and co-creator of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, Erin Kotecki Vest, in her capacity as the political director of BlogHer, Sarah Granger an online communications expert who helps political campaigns use new media, and Lisa Witter, who wrote The She Spot: Why Women Are the Market for Changing the World -- And How to Reach Them.

This was the panel I was waiting for all week.

What Women Want at The Big Tent

After grabbing a quick Udi’s roast beef sandwich with caramelized onions, I dashed back to the tent for What Women Want: Journalists and Activists Connect Stories and Solutions. Rita Henley Jensen, Editor-in-Chief, Women's eNews, moderated the session. (They’ve been blogging from Denver this week, too.)

Sara K. Gould, President and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women introduced us to several women’s whose organizations have received grants from the Ms. Foundation. First, Althea Francois, Safe Streets/Strong Communities, New Orleans, LA talked about the devastation that Katrina still inflicts on New Orleans and how the city and the police department need to be rebuilt.

Mary Kay Harris, Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), Providence, RI talked about the struggles post-Katrina are representative of other crises and failed policy prescriptions across the country, and how systemic, comprehensive policy change in the Gulf Coast will ensure justice and well-being for families and communities throughout the U.S.

More on Women Who Changed the World

MOTHERS urges everyone to check out the National Women's History Project, a wonderful website. There you can learn about:

• Women's History Month
• Great Women Who Changed History
• International Women's Day

And find great sources for students, teachers, and parents.

More resources on Women's History Month:

• The History Channel
• Time Magazine for Kids
• About.com
• SocialStudies.com

Women's History Month makes March so inspiring. Share the stories of these inspiring women with the girls and boys in your life.

Continuing the CEASEFIRE with The Motherhood Manifesto

Last MOTHERS Day we invited you you to visit MomsRising and sign the CEASEFIRE to the Mommy Wars petition to tell the heads of CBS, NBC, and ABC that it's time to move beyond the false rhetoric of the "Mommy Wars" and that we want to focus on real problems in need of real solutions.

This Labor Day join MOTHERS in recognizing that ALL MOTHERS WORK! Every day is Labor Day for family caregivers.

Help MOTHERS celebrate Labor Day as we call for a CEASEFIRE in the Mommy Wars and present the signed petition to the media in New York City.

In partnership with MomsRising, we urge you to read The Motherhood Manifesto. In this ground breaking book, Joan Blades and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner argue that it’s time for broad change in America’s attitude towards working mothers. Radical shifts in public policy must happen to make parenting and the workplace compatible.