Mother’s Day 2015 came and went by in a flash. But the celebration of moms and those who love them doesn't have to stop. In fact, we're launching a mission, #MissionPossible, this week to build a stronger economy for women, families, and the nation so we'll have even more to celebrate next Mother's Day!

To launch our #MissionPossible, we’ll be delivering books of first-hand accounts from the front lines of motherhood and parenthood across our nation, along with super spy sunglasses, to key leaders onWednesday, May 13th in Washington, D.C. We want them to know that the ball is in their court to build a future so bright we all have to wear shades! 

*Sign here to tell Congress to be on the lookout for moms this Wednesday— and to make sure Congress knows paid sick days, affordable childcare, fair pay, and family (maternity/paternity) leave not only boost our economy, but also are #MissionPossible for our nation: http://action.momsrising.org/sign/Mission_Possible/

It's 2015. And we know that while some things are still Mission Impossible(sending people to Jupiter, flying cars), advancing #FairPay, #PaidSickDays, #HigherMinWage and other common sense policies that boost our families and our economy most certainly IS #MissionPossible!

It’s time. 

Here's the deal: We have a modern labor force, but we don't have modern workplace policies to match. Women are now a full 50% of the labor force for the first time in history, and three-quarters of moms are now in the labor force. Moms are currently the primary or sole breadwinner in 40% of all families. The majority of women in our nation—82%—become moms at some point and at some point each of us has had a mother—so this labor force change impacts you, our economy, and our nation.

Yet despite this monumental change, our public policies are still stuck in the Stone Age. In the U.S., we’re behind most other industrialized nations when it comes to access to paid family leave after a new baby arrives, sick days, affordable childcare, and more. This hurts our families, our businesses, and our economy alike.

*Tell Congress it’s #MissionPossible to update our nation’s family economic security policies: http://action.momsrising.org/sign/Mission_Possible/

Here is what's at stake in #MissionPossible:

• Childcare shouldn’t cost more than college—particularly when parents need safe, enriching places for children to be so they can work. But it does.
   
• Everyone should have a chance to get better when they’re sick, but not everyone does. In fact, 80% of low wage workers don’t have access to a single paid sick day.
   
• Having a baby shouldn’t be a leading cause of poverty spells in our nation, which is a time when income dips below what’s needed for food and rent. This poverty pull is tied to the fact that only 13% of people in the U.S. have access to paid family leave after a new baby arrives, a policy which is the norm in the rest of the world. Moms are more likely to be in the labor force a year after a child arrives, significantly less likely to need longer term government entitlement funds, and businesses save costs in recruitment and retaining when a paid family leave policy is in place.
   
• Wage and hiring discrimination against moms needs to end. Being a mom is now an even greater predictor of wage discrimination than gender. The bottom line is that all women should receive fair pay; yet women, and particularly moms and women of color, experience wage discrimination each day.

We can do better. The good news is that when this many people are having the same exact problem at the same time, we don’t have an epidemic of personal failings, instead we have national structural issues that we can solve together—and fortunately, it doesn’t take rocket science to figure out solutions. Studies point clearly to exactly which policies changes are needed to boost our families, our economy, and lower the gendered wage gap.

*Solutions that boost families and our economy are at our fingertips. Can you lend a hand in telling your members of Congress about these policy solutions? http://action.momsrising.org/sign/Mission_Possible/

To be clear, this is not just about the economy or about public policy and candidates, it's about real people.

People like Barbara, a MomsRising member, who shared: “I didn’t have paid sick days so I had to postpone taking my kids to the doctor. One time, this resulted in my daughter having a serious untreated ear infection that harmed her hearing.”

And people like Sonya who had to go back to work just one week after her first baby was born, and only 4 days after her second baby arrived: “I wanted one-on-one time with my babies, but I didn’t have any leave.”

People like Christina who wrote to MomsRising with this on her mind: “I’m frustrated that our childcare costs more than our rent AND our car payments COMBINED.”

*Don’t forget to take a quick moment to educate members of Congress about what’s really going on in our nation by adding your signature here: http://action.momsrising.org/sign/Mission_Possible/

(And please take a moment to forward this email, to post the action link on Twitter and Facebook, and to spread the word. The more people who are involved, the faster we’ll reach solutions).

Happy Mother’s Day today — and every day!