This Mother’s Day...spare me the empty praise.

I’m all for brunch, flowers, or soft things that celebrate the wonderful things my body is capable of and the two wonderful humans we’re raising. Usually I’d love mugs and cards that celebrate how mothers raise the next generation, how it’s such an important role. But this Mother’s Day? Miss me with the bullshit that we value mothers, because in this country we clearly do not. I’ve spent 2 years interviewing 300+ working women on what made it hard to balance, the stupid things male bosses said when they announced pregnancies, why they considered leaving jobs, why they stayed, the abuse that happens with alcohol and men, the assumptions bosses make when they have a full-time stay at home partner running their lives, the toll the chronic stress of overwork took on their bodies, the amount of times they had to play or act small to not disrupt the fragile male egos everywhere. Oof, the stories I could tell you. NONE of it makes motherhood work in the workplace. If we DID value mothers in the workplace, here’s what we’d gift them: 💐 Cultures that punish toxic behavior even for rainmakers 💐 Paths to shift your career along with your life that let you advance 💐 Paid caregiver leave 💐 Pay Equity 💐Universal healthcare 💐Cultural and racial diversity in the C-suite 💐Widely available male contraception 💐Trauma-informed workplaces 💐More seats for women at the table Basically: we’d give them a workplace that does not claim to be 2022, while acting like 1950. Because if moms really are the ones raising the next generations of business and world leaders, and you’re leaving it to us to curb the assholery, then women belong in ALL places where decisions are made. #happymothersday #mentalhealthawarenessmonth #traumainformed #CorporateRehab