The day of the woman is here, and it is not motherhood, or whether or not she has pursued a professional direction that defines her. It is her ability, as a woman, to rise from her current challenges and circumstances to be that woman who inspires, who contributes, and who pays it forward. That is a woman’s power.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/living-single/200910/shriver-s-woman-s-nation-is-actually-wife-and-mother-s-nation-the-evidence

Aww. That’s cute. And we’re in a “post-racial” America, too.

As for an action plan? Yeah — we definitely need one!

Everyone here has expressed all of the various points of my concern so well — brava all!

Joanne, you and Alamar pointed out the “moms — currently parenting” focus. Melanie Notkin, Elisa Camahort and others discussed this (as much as one can) on Twitter and I was happy to join in that conversation. I got some incredibly valuable points that are extremely relevant:

1. The benefits mentioned would benefit all women, not just working mothers, but the overall effort is exclusionary of women who are not currently parenting (whether they are mothers or not). This excludes women who do not have children (of various ages — so some might be engaged because they plan to become mothers, but others may have chosen to not have children or do not have children) and women who no longer have children in the house.

2. Changing the language to be more inclusionary is not the correct response. Elisa wisely said that the better response is to correctly identify it for what it is “a mom’s nation.”

3. Non-parenting moms have different needs that also need to be addressed. Not to mention, it’s time to include them in the conversation. The brief mention of “moms and caregivers” hit in a tiny way on the fact that there is a sandwich generation taking care of people on both sides. That’s as close as it came, and again, it seemed to target women who are moms.

Amy brilliantly said, “And like Julie, I’m wondering what the action plan is and where Momsrising, the one of the major netroots organizations that has made some headway on these issues in recent years, is in this report given that it outlines the core issues that are the foundation of momsrising’s mission. I’m surprised they have not even commented on the report or the NBC series.”

I’m wondering and surprised too, until a little niggling thought occurred to me — having caught wind that netroots groups such as MomsRising and WomenCount were making headway and taking action, is this a pre-emptive retention action?

Hence my last bullet point.

Plus, it sets up a nice segue into why women are afraid: so often their very empowerment is in name only, and gets snatched away from them by the Powers That Be.

I’m glad someone with clout and credibility has taken the opportunity to shine a light on the issues in a big way. I think it’s good timing, particularly after our tanking economy has stirred an appetite for greater balance and things that will truly improve quality of life beyond compiling material wealth. And like Valerie Jarrett said on Meet the Press, bringing these issues into the national dialogue is the first step.

But like you, I wonder if it will turn into anything more than just some good TV. And like Julie, I’m wondering what the action plan is and where Momsrising, the one of the major netroots organizations that has made some headway on these issues in recent years, is in this report given that it outlines the core issues that are the foundation of momsrising’s mission. I’m surprised they have not even commented on the report or the NBC series.