The mommy wars
May 3, 2012
A recent comment by Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen has re-ignited what many people refer to as "The Mommy Wars."
Speaking about republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, Rosen said, "His wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of women in this country are facing."
Ann Romney responded via Twitter saying, "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work."
While many will argue that the so-called Mommy Wars are not real, others say that there are arguments for and against each type of mom - those who stay at home and those who work outside of the home.
"The truth is most women aren't fighting about this," University of Illinois at Chicago sociology professor Barbara Risman wrote on CNN.com. "They know that work is involved to make everyday life happen: the feeding, and clothing and caring for oneself and one's family, whether earning the money to buy the clothes and food, or being at home, washing those clothes or cooking dinner. All mothers work, nearly all of the time."
Whether or not the rest of society is accepting of mothers working outside of the home is another issue. A recent CNN poll revealed that Americans' attitudes have significantly changed over the past 30 years.
The survey of more than 1,000 American adults found that the majority (52 percent) of people have a positive view of the impact working mothers have on their children. In addition, the results revealed that only 2 percent of people disagree with a woman working outside of the home if her husband can financially support the family. That is a marked improvement from recent years. The news source reported that 78 percent of Americans opposed women working outside of the home in 1938, 36 percent felt the same way in the 1970s and 17 percent thought it was a bad idea as recently as 1997.
The fact of the matter is that many women simply don't have a choice about having to work outside of the home to help care for their families, including single mothers.
President Obama grew up with a single mom who had to work to take care of him.
"There's no tougher job than being a mom," the president said, according to the Worcester Telegram. "When I think about what Michelle's had to do, when I think about my own mom, a single mother raising me and my sister, that's work. So, anybody who would argue otherwise probably needs to rethink their statement."
Whether you're a single mother looking to advance your career or a mom who wants to get a college degree to help increase your earning potential and job marketability, there are ways to help make going to college more affordable. Grants for parents, single mother scholarships and scholarships for mothers help women achieve the dream of getting a college education.
