Allison Robinson: Could Working Moms Be The True Winners Of The Election?

Allison Robinson: Could Working Moms Be the True Winners of the Election?

The decision regarding a mother’s return to work and the timing of it poses challenges for families. This balancing act becomes especially apparent during this time of year when a new school year brings new obstacles for both children and mothers.

As a society, we highly value parental involvement and engagement in our children’s education. However, we have not fully considered how working moms can achieve this balance. It is important to reconsider how mothers go back to work, allowing them to provide the necessary attention to their children while also earning a living and engaging in meaningful work.

Mothers with school-age children have much to contribute to companies and the American economy. Thus, we must find a way to offer mothers the flexibility to work while managing homework, after-school activities, and numerous other parental responsibilities.

The good news is that we are finally starting a national conversation about achieving this objective.

In a divisive election cycle, supporting working moms is becoming one of the few issues that transcends the outlandish rhetoric. Paid parental leave, reduced childcare costs, and equal pay for equal work received significant prime-time coverage at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

Hillary Clinton, a working mother herself, has made gender equality in the workplace a central aspect of her campaign. Ivanka Trump, also a working mom and influential campaign adviser, has highlighted the barriers faced by working mothers such as high childcare costs and limited accessibility, as well as the wage penalty they often experience.

The country is paying attention to these issues because being a working mother is no longer uncommon. Now is the time to find innovative ways to support the intersection of work and personal life that affects all working mothers in our nation.

To address this, I launched The Mom Project earlier this year. This digital community connects professional women with companies that have project-based work opportunities. Drawing from my own experience, I realized that career progression and personal priorities do not always align. Many women, like me, want to take control of their career path and find opportunities that align with their personal goals outside of work.

Since the launch of The Mom Project in April, thousands of talented professional women have joined our community. These mothers are seeking challenging and rewarding projects that allow them to remain professionally relevant, financially independent, and flexible enough to focus on other priorities.

Equally important, American companies are responding to this demand. In a short period of time, the businesses we work with are committed to addressing these challenges. The private sector is taking the lead in implementing policies that are both reasonable and economically feasible.

However, there is still much work to be done.

Through conversations with mothers and fathers, I have learned about the obstacles that continue to hold parents back in our country. These issues go beyond the need for flexible work hours and include the lack of paid family leave for the majority of U.S. workers and the exorbitant cost of childcare.

Continuing to prioritize working women in our conversations until Election Day and beyond will help solve some of these problems. We must insist that our political leaders come together to support working families, as we undeniably share common goals. We need our leaders to propose, debate, and implement legislation that makes it easier for working parents to succeed.

When I started The Mom Project, my goal was to assist mothers like myself. However, I have come to realize that together we can make a difference. Little by little, mom by mom, and company by company, we can change the way work is perceived in this country. The conversation during the 2016 race indicates that policymakers on both sides of the aisle may finally be on board too.

Allison Robinson is the founder and CEO of The Mom Project. She spearheads the company’s vision to redefine the path to professional success for women. After becoming a mother in 2015, Allison recognized the opportunity to create a talent marketplace that connects employers with educated and accomplished mothers looking for meaningful work across the country.