Mother Power

"We are here.  Use our voices."
Katherine Stone, Post Partum Progress

This post is about and for us all, even though it is titled for mothers. Inspired by my participation in the UN Foundation's Digital Media Lounge last week in partnership with Mashable and the 92 St Y, it is a call to action for all.

I am a mother.

No sooner are those words out of my mouth then in every society across this planet, there are instant connotations.  It could be implied that I left my brain somewhere, that I’m sleep deprived, that I have “pay me less money” stamped on my forehead, that I sit around eating chocolate and watching Oprah.  That I sold out feminism by staying home with my children, that I sold out my children by going to work.  In many cultures it could mean I get up first, go to bed last and am entirely responsible for every drop of water, every morsel of food in my household.  It could imply I am caring for my parents, my grandparents and my children.   

It might mean that society views me through the lens of sacrifice and honor or simply by how much I’m worth in the Mothers’ Day sales figures.  It might mean I give birth to my babies on a mud floor or in a hospital where the walls are covered with blood and women are two and three to a bed.  It might mean I have never given birth, but call the forgotten and abandoned and sick of heart, my children.

Watch live streaming video from mashable at livestream.com

The rise of the digital age is giving mothers their power.  Political power, social power, economic power.  Mother power.  Mothers are telling their stories.  And mothers who don’t yet have that digital access, are telling their stories to mothers who do.  We amplify each other’s voices and we reach across the globe.

In the US, the rise of the “mommy blogger” has been greeted with celebration, derision and exploitation.  The term has become offensive to many, as in some circles it has come to mean wanna-be journalists with a penchant for free stuff.  Or worse, “let’s pitch this to some of those cute mommy bloggers”.  We are not interested in that conversation today.  We are interested in the real, tangible impact mothers who blog or engage in social media or simply share things they discover on-line are having on their neighborhoods, communities, nations and of course, the world. 

There is always a thrill when you’re looking at your blog traffic statistics and you see you have a reader in Mongolia (hello!).  I write predominantly for American women and the bulk of my readers are in the US, with Australia and the UK close behind.  I write predominantly about work, parenting, childcare, elder care, marriage, juggling it all, finding work life balance, whatever that means to each of us.  It seems like a conversation for the privileged and I understand that, but disagree. 

Every society has to examine how it incorporates women in its formal and informal systems of work.  Work/life constraints most severely affect the poorest. Blogging about these issues in the developed world have opened my eyes to what mothers face in other countries.  In fact, the sheer act of starting a blog has opened me to the force of connectedness I have to every mother.  The cliché is true after all; what unites us is infinitely more than what divides us.

I am not part of the development community. I certainly don’t pretend to have solutions to the great global challenges.  But I know how to tell stories that I care about.  And that’s how we connect, engage and find the spaces where we are all the same.

In this process of learning more about global poverty, illness, the role of women and access to resources, through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), I realized the need for more balance is our lives is even more critical. Each of us with the desire to serve and simply DO SOMETHING needs to carve out that priority in our lives.  It's too important to leave it to somebody else.  

I renew my commitment to cajole, agitate, advocate and educate individuals, organizations and governments to find more innovative ways to structure our social and workplace systems to maximize productivity and open the door for truly global scale problem solving.

For inspiration, and a further call to action, listen to A Conversation on Faith, Women and the MDGs with Marianne Williamson, "don't shut up... keep talking about the issues."  That's exactly my intention.

Welcome new readers, it is an honor to have you here.  It would be wonderful to have you here more often, please subscribe on the right column of this page by RSS or email and comment so I can connect with you more fully.

My deep gratitude to my on-line community who through twitter and facebook and email shout-outs keep lifting me up and reminding me I can fly.  Finally, kudos and huge virtual hugs to my co-panelists Emily McKhann and Kristina Daniele for a truly magical experience.