2020 In Review: The Year Of The Mother (forbes.com)

By Christine Michel Carter, Influencer, Mom Congress Member and Executive Committee Member

This article first appeared in Forbes.

While 2020 will be remembered as the year of a global pandemic, civil unrest, and a historic national election, it should also be recognized as the year of the mother. From a public declaration in January to $10 billion in childcare funding in December, here's a comprehensive timeline of how working mothers affected 2020.

January

Mom-focused content startup Motherly partnered with mother's rights membership organization Mom Congress to declare 2020 the #YearoftheMother.

The movement demanded support for mothers, specifically pertaining to paid family leave, the maternal health crisis, and maternal mental health support, infant feeding, affordable childcare solutions, and the cultural expectations that contribute to maternal stress.

February

Professional tennis player, entrepreneur, and working mom Serena Williams joined forces with The Mom Project- the leading career destination for moms- as a strategic advisor.

"I'm calling on CEOs, Heads of People and Business Leaders big and small. It doesn't matter whether you're a team of 1 or 100,000; if you're hiring, are you considering hiring moms? Together, we can influence how work gets done and build a better workplace for the future," said Williams, a wife, and mother, in a statement. Organizations like Facebook, Nike, Uber, Apple, Google, and Twitter post opportunities for moms on The Mom Project's platform. In 2020 the venture-backed company raised $25 million in funding for its working mothers' job site.

March

A mom entrepreneur found a way to capitalize on our stay-at-home realities.

Raddish- the cooking club, culinary lesson, and mealtime solution for kids and their parents- gave away 50,000 cooking kits at the start of the pandemic to support families learning from home. CEO Samantha Barnes cited that Raddish would end 2020 35% above last year's revenue, doubling its membership base.

April

Natalist, the women's health startup offering science-backed conception essentials, raised a seed round, and expanded its national distribution into Target.

Chief Executive Officer Halle Tecco reported the company grew 500% in 2020 as women turned to online resources and reproductive health products. The Natalist team is comprised of moms, doctors, and scientists. Their mission is to reduce the shame and misinformation surrounding conception. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 13% of women under 49 have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant.

May

Saga, a new social media app, officially launches.

Saga was created to help families record and save the life stories of friends and loved ones on recorded voice audio. The company launched during COVID to help families stay connected and preserve memories. Saga is backed by Bling Capital and DCM and was the 2020 End Well Innovator Award winner.

June

The first annual State of Black Mothers In America event became the largest conference dedicated to this audience in the world.

With nearly 2,000 attendees, it surpassed the attendance of the previous title holder by more than three-fold. It also raised sponsorship for non-profit organizations supporting Black moms, including the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars program. The event was held on Juneteenth (June 19) and sponsored by Google, McDonald's, and several other organizations.

July

California mother Drisana Rios was letting go of her kids being noisy while she was on work calls.

Rios, an insurance account executive, sued her former employer for gender discrimination and wrongful termination. Rios is a mother to a 4-year-old and an infant. She alleged coronavirus closures left her with no child care options. Pre-pandemic, about half of U.S. families reported having trouble finding care for a young child. That number jumped to nearly two-thirds in the spring of 2020 as daycares closed and other caretakers, such as grandparents and nannies, were told to stay home.

August

Senior Counselor to President Donald Trump Kellyanne Conway announced her resignation to focus on her children.

"For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama," Conway said in a statement, emphasizing her desire to spend more time with her four children and with her husband, George Conway. In her statement, she also noted that her children are "teens and 'tweens starting a new academic year, in middle school and high school, remotely from home for at least a few months. "As millions of parents nationwide know, kids' doing school from home' requires a level of attention and vigilance that is as unusual as these times," she added.

September

The U.S. Department of Labor reported 865,000 women left the workforce.

With consulting firm McKinsey & Company, Cofounder of Lean In Sheryl Sandberg released the Women in the Workplace 2020 report. It cited the mass exodus of women threatened to erase all the gains women have made in management and senior leadership roles. It also marked the first time in six years of the annual report that researchers found evidence of women intending to leave their jobs at higher rates than men.

October

At a Michigan campaign rally, President Donald Trump promises to get women's husbands "back to work" if he's reelected.

While Trump focused on men during his speech, as noted above, the pandemic disproportionately affected working moms. Furthermore, in this same month, Pew Research Center reported that Black, Asian and Hispanic mothers saw a more significant decrease in the share employed than White mothers.

November

The first female of color (and stepmother) is elected vice president, and the previous record of women serving in Congress is broken.

According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, the number of women who will serve in the next Congress (January 2021) includes Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), who will ascend to the Vice Presidency on January 20, 2021. Moms face increased scrutiny when running for office and often feel the need to hide their parenthood. Yet research shows moms in Congress introduce five more bills over their tenure than their peers. They are also more likely to introduce legislation prioritizing the issues that matter most to families, such as healthcare, childcare, education, paid family leave, and affordable housing for families.

December

The COVID-19 Relief Package is announced, providing $10 billion in funding for the childcare industry.

The majority will fund grants for childcare providers. Sarah Rittling, executive director of the First Five Years Fund, says the new Congress and incoming Biden administration have an opportunity to "address the nation's childcare challenges by fortifying an early learning and care system that works for all families." For both children and their parents, there are benefits to early childhood education. Children gain a strong educational foundation, and their parents can pursue careers or enhance their knowledge or vocational skills.

The COVID-19 Relief Package also provided $3 million to establish and maintain a maternal mental health hotline staffed by qualified counselors, 24 hours a day.

The U.S. suffers from one of the highest maternal death rates in the developed world. Suicide and overdose have been identified as the leading causes of death during the first year postpartum, and depression is the most common complication of pregnancy in the first year postpartum. Through the maternal mental health hotline, qualified counselors can provide immediate support to mothers and caregivers, including education, emotional support, and community resource connections.

"This is the year the world was forced to see the unseen work of mothers. The pandemic exposed the way that mothers fill every role and need in society—without support—and though they were already overwhelmed before COVID-19, this year was a breaking point," summarizes Jill Koziol, co-founder, and CEO of Motherly.

Koziol notes that although #TheYearoftheMother didn't come to fruition in ways she anticipated, it has been the year we finally see mothers and their hardship. "One can plausibly claim that mothers carry an uneven burden. It's been on full display for all to see this year with partners home all day and employers getting a peek into homes via Zoom."

Indeed, one can only hope that 2021 ushers in more financial and emotional support for working mothers, as that support will directly affect our nation in the long term. As Malcolm X once said, "the mother is the first teacher of the child. The message she gives that child, that child gives to the world."

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