Valerie Young

Valerie Young is a public policy analyst who focuses on the economic status of mothers and other family caregivers. She promotes social justice by arming mothers with information and a healthy dose of outrage. She is the Advocacy Coordinator at the Nati

Valerie Young is the Director of Outreach for the Caring Economy Campaign, promoting policies that value care as the origin of economic prosperity and national well-being. She is a public policy analyst and women's rights advocate in Washington DC.

Blog Post List

August 6, 2009

Written by MOTHERS volunteer Kelly Coyle DiNorcia (ahimsamama.blogspot.com) As mother to a 4- and 1-year-old, it’s been a long time since I’ve chosen to forego sleep in order to read. But Bad Mother was one of those books that had me up turning the pages when I should have been catching some Z’s. I wondered at one point if locking myself in the bathroom to read a few pages made me a Bad Mother . If so, it was worth it. It is not just that Waldman’s memoir about some of her dishonorable mothering moments is smart, funny and poignant that kept me going. Ayelet Waldman is, on some level,...

MomsRising Together

July 23, 2009

From Your Woman In Washington Written by MOTHERS volunteer Kelly Coyle DiNorcia I was recently discussing with my husband the legendary status he has achieved among the members of my moms’ group. When I was away giving a workshop, my beloved partner was home with my four-year-old daughter (I took the baby with me) and he simply cracked under the pressure. When I returned, the house was in a state of disarray, the extent of which I did not immediately appreciate. When looking for something on top of the refrigerator a week after my return, I noticed that there was a not-small amount of garbage...

MomsRising Together

Environmental Health

July 8, 2009

From Your Woman In Washington Written by MOTHERS volunteer Kelly Coyle DiNorcia (ahimsamama.blogspot.com) I recently took a ride down to Princeton, NJ to see a talk given by a woman named Shannon Hayes. It was about what she calls Radical Homemaking, or Enlightened Homemaking. Radical Homemakers are those who eschew many modern conveniences ("necessities") and choose instead to live a simple, low-tech lifestyle. In her research that led her to write a book about these Enlightened Homemakers, she has found that people can follow this lifestyle anywhere - in a city, in the suburbs, on a farm,...

MomsRising Together

Paid Family Leave Paid Sick Days

June 16, 2009

From Your (Wo)man in Washington Blog Another Hill hearing room, fresh-faced staffers buzzing in the background, Congressmen and women at their microphones, witnesses seated at the witness table. June 11 was just another day for the Nation's Capital of the World's Greatest Democracy. Except it wasn't. The bills in question would make paid leave a reality for (at least some) American workers. The Healthy Families Act, providing 7 paid sick days a year, has never before gotten a hearing, even though it's been introduced year after year. The FIRST Act, offering states federal funds to establish...

MomsRising Together

May 26, 2009

From Your (Wo)man in Washington , Valerie Young Nearly 4 out of 10 babies are born to unmarried women. Have today's teenaged girls run completely amok? Not so. The sudden spike in unwed motherhood is driven by the increasing number of women in their 20's and 30's who are choosing to become mothers without a husband on board. The trend is seen by researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics and is based on a review of birth certificates across the United States. There may be no single explanation, but several factors play a role. The social stigma for unmarried births has lessened...

MomsRising Together

Paid Family Leave

May 18, 2009

Written by Valerie Young, Your (Wo)man in Washington Blogger The United States has held on to 27th place in an index of 158 countries documenting conditions for mothers throughout the world. Mothers' education, access to health care, and economic status in each country were evaluated because they are the three factors most closely linked to the quality of children's lives. The underlying data is provided by governments, research institutions, and international agencies. To reach the entire post click here .

MomsRising Together

Realistic & Fair Wages

April 28, 2009

Click here to read the whole post from Your (Wo)man in Washington. In order to make what the average man made in 2008, the average woman has to work all of that year, and through today, April 28, in 2009. Equal Pay Day signifies that 23% gap between men's and women's wages, assuming both work year round and full time.

MomsRising Together

Families & The Federal Budget

April 16, 2009

Click here to read the whole post from Your (Wo)man in Washington. Written by MOTHERS Guest Blogger, Kelly Coyle DiNorcia

MomsRising Together

Realistic & Fair Wages

April 3, 2009

Click here to read the whole post from Your (Wo)man in Washington®.

MomsRising Together

March 27, 2009

Click here to read the whole post from Your (Wo)man in Washington®.

MomsRising Together

March 26, 2009

Gloria Steinem reaches the commanding age of 75 this month. The following extracts from a speech she made in May 2007, show the conceptual link between feminism and the mothers' movement. Click here to continue reading this post from Your (Wo)man in Washington®. Happy Birthday, Gloria. The work continues.

MomsRising Together

Family Economic Security

March 19, 2009

Click here to read the entire post from Your (Wo)man in Washington®.

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Family Economic Security

March 16, 2009

Yesterday the President announced the formation of the White House Council on Women and Girls. This is a very high level group comprised of Cabinet Secretaries and the directors of numerous federal agencies.

MomsRising Together

February 24, 2009

Last week I went to the "Thinking Forward, Thinking Big" progressive wonkfest hosted by the Economic Policy Institute, Demos, The American Prospect, and the Institute for America's Future.

MomsRising Together

February 19, 2009

Written by MOTHERS volunteer Kelly Coyle DiNorcia Many of us who read this blog are aware of the statistics. Women make less money than men for equal work. Their lifetime earnings are significantly lower than that of men, on average. They are at significantly higher risk for falling into poverty than men. Blah, blah, blah.

MomsRising Together

February 11, 2009

Contributed by MOTHERS volunteer and guest blogger Rosanne Weston.

MomsRising Together

Family Economic Security

February 9, 2009

I spent most of the weekend watching the debate in the Senate on the stimulus bill, or listening to people talk about the debate on the stimulus bill. I know I am suffering from stimulus bill overload, but before I go stick my head in an ice bucket, I want to make the following points.

MomsRising Together

Family Economic Security

February 2, 2009

I am still thinking about the stimulus plan, and the role "market forces" played in making this mess.

MomsRising Together

Family Economic Security

January 28, 2009

When Caroline Kennedy wanted to be considered for Hillary Clinton's seat in the US Senate, a number of articles appeared presenting her as the icon of mid-life womanhood, returning to the workplace after years spent in the home raising children. To which I thoughtfully responded, "Huh?"

MomsRising Together

Family Economic Security

January 27, 2009

Excerpt from Your (Wo)man in Washington

MomsRising Together

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Blog Post List

Book Review – Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace by Ayelet Waldman

Banana Peels and Beach Parties

The REAL Opt-Out Revolution

It Only Looked Like Business As Usual

What's New in the Motherhood?

We're # 1 - Not!

It's Equal Pay Day!

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Workplace Policy Only Gets You So Far

No News is NOT Good News

Happy Birthday, Gloria!

SOS AIG

White House Council on Women and Girls

Government: the problem, or the solution to the problem?

One Woman

Married, With Children

"Shovel-Ready" Isn't Enough

To Market, To Market . . .

Me and Caroline Kennedy

The Stimulus Plan: Why You Should Care, What You Should Know