Hi All

I wish everyone a happy new year and wanted to share something that I
received in my inbox recently. It's from a group called MomsRising
and is along the lines of some of the things we have discussed on our
forum regarding prejudice against women who choose to have children
and keep working. Read on for more information.

Best to all!
Carolyn

Dear MomsRising member,

NEW YEAR'S POP QUIZ: What's Maternal Profiling?

a. The practice of selling stiff undergarments that promise a
return to one's pre-pregnancy profile.
b. How the Oprah Show executives determine their prime demographic.
c. Employment discrimination against a woman who has, or will have,
children.
d. Routine stop and searches of swerving minivans to check if
violence is being perpetrated via flying food between minors.

ANSWER: c. Maternal Profiling was reported on as one of the new
buzzwords of 2007 in the New York Times (and members of MomsRising
were credited with introducing this term into our national
consciousness!). They defined it as:

"Employment discrimination against a woman who has, or will have,
children. The term has been popularized by members of MomsRising, an
advocacy group promoting the rights of mothers in the workplace."

SPREAD THE WORD: Join us in our New Year's resolution to help stamp
out Maternal Profiling. Share this term with friends and family by
forwarding this email, read about how others experience Maternal
Profiling on our blog, and if you're so moved, share your story of
Maternal Profiling at the end of the blog as well.

Click here to read more about Maternal Profiling, including how it
impacts you & comment on our blog: http://www.momsrising.org/node/710

This new phrase is powerful because it brings forward a shared
experience--helping to frame national understanding of the causes of
and solutions to discrimination against mothers. Sexual harassment is
a phrase which helped spark major legislative and cultural changes.
Widespread use of the phrase "Maternal Profiling" can similarly help
spark major changes.

And major changes are needed. One recent study found that mothers are
79% less likely to be hired than non-mothers with equal resumes and
job experiences. Mothers also face discrimination in their paychecks:
Women without children make 90 cents to a man's dollar, but mothers
make only 73 cents to a man's dollar, and single mothers make about 60
cents to a man's dollar. Working together, we can stamp out Maternal
Profiling and make our nation more truly family-friendly.

NEED AN EXCITING PARTY CONVERSATION STARTER? Use this Pop Quiz as a
conversation starter at parties, and as an easy way to share the term
with friends (You can test friends at parties, see if friends can make
their own definitions while midnight confetti is falling, and try it
out on relatives). The more people who understand and use the word,
the faster we'll be able to stop the practice. Let's get rid of it!

Have a very Happy New Years!

- Mary, Cooper, Kristin, Joan, Nanette, Donna, Anita, Katie

-------So what is Maternal Profiling really? And is it happening to
you and your friends?------

Sadly, the answer to the second question is, yes, if you're a mother
in America, then Maternal Profiling has likely happened to you.
Maternal Profiling is a significant and shared problem which
negatively impacts vast numbers of women in our nation, particularly
since a full 82% of American women become mothers by the time they are
forty-four years old. And, the workplace impacts of Maternal
Profiling are jaw dropping, especially given that three-quarters of
American mothers are now in the labor force.

In fact, the American Journal of Sociology recently reported a study
which found that mothers are 79% less likely to be hired than
non-mothers with equal resumes and job experiences. (Sadly, that
wasn't a typo. The study really found that mothers are 79% less
likely to be hired.)

Mothers also face steep wage hits and unequal wages for equal work.
One study found that women without children make 90 cents to a man's
dollar, but mothers make only 73 cents to a man's dollar, and single
mothers make about 60 cents to a man's dollar.

Fortunately, we know how to narrow these wage gaps and how to stop
Maternal Profiling. Countries with family-friendly policies in
place--such as paid family leave after the birth of a child and
subsidized childcare--don't have the same degree of maternal wage hits
as we do here. That's one of the reasons why MomsRising is fighting
for family-friendly policies, as well as for laws that protect mothers
and other caregivers from discrimination in the workplace. Cultural
change is another way to help stop Maternal Profiling: The more people
who become aware of what are often subconscious discriminatory
actions, the less often those discriminatory actions will happen. So
it's important that as many people as possible learn about the
widespread practice of Maternal Profiling.

*Take a moment to help spread the word (literally!) to friends and
family by forwarding them our Pop Quiz.

P.S. Don't forget to get more details about Maternal Profiling and
share your experiences at the end of that blog by clicking here:
http://www.momsrising.org/node/710

P.P.S. Read the recent New York Times article which includes Maternal
Profiling and MomsRising here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/weekinreview/23buzzwords.html