Women comprise more than half our population and 82% of women become moms. Together, we’re an inspiring, world-changing, POWERFUL force. We are Black mothers, Latino, White, Asian, Muslim, older and younger moms, grandmoms, and mothers of all immigration statuses. We are moms who are differently abled, trans and gender non-conforming, and sometimes we are all those moms in one.
 
We are powerful! Women now comprise half of the entire paid labor force in the US – and moms are the primary breadwinner in nearly 50% of households nationwide. And, women drive 70 to 80% of all consumer purchases in an economy that is primarily fueled by consumer spending. The US economy would collapse without women and moms.
 
Together, too, we face obstacles. For instance, being a mom is now a greater predictor of wage and hiring discrimination than being a woman – and moms of color are harmed the most. In fact, women on average are still only paid 80 cents on a man’s dollar – with moms, LGBTQ+ women, and women of color experiencing even more devastating wage discrimination. Women also still face discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace and on the streets. And women are still too often denied access to necessary tools to succeed, like health care, paid family and medical leave, or affordable childcare options.
 
We, together, have the power to change all of this for the better. So together we rise and stand with #DayWithoutAWoman. We rise to lead the way in cities, in states, and in our home communities to build a nation that works for all of us – and we’re advancing policies that lift all our families, our economy, and our country.
 
Policies like: Healthcare. Fair pay. Affordable childcare. Paid family leave. Criminal justice reform. Gun safety and police reform. Food justice. Fair treatment of all families, including immigrant families. Maternal justice.
 
One thing is clear: Women and moms of all backgrounds make enormous, unique and invaluable contributions to our communities, our economy, our families, and our country each and every day; and we do this in a nation where women, particularly moms and women of color, still don’t receive equal pay for equal work and while being subjected to epidemic levels of discrimination, harassment, and violence.
 
So today we stand with women across the nation for a #DayWithoutAWoman to not only highlight the many contributions that women and moms make in our nation, but also to put a focus on the work that’s left to be done to reach equity and equality. So together we stand, we march, we rise for each other. When women stand together, we are unstoppable.
 
When women rise, our nation rises.