Working Moms: Don't Give Governor Bryant's Comments a Second Thought | Katherine Wintsch
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Founder & CEO: The Mom Complex
Working Moms: Don't Give Governor Bryant's Comments
a Second Thought
Posted: 06/07/2013 2:34 pm EDT
Updated: 08/07/2013 5:12 am EDT
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14
By now,
we've all heard or read about the ridiculous comments made by Mississippi
Share
Gov. Phil Bryant earlier this week. When asked why U.S. students are "mediocre" in
(https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fkatherine-wintsch%2Fworking-moms-dont-give-governor-bryants10
academic
achievement, Bryant suggested that the tides started to turn when moms
comments-a-second-thought_b_3402641.html)
across
America decided to start working outside the home.
Tweet
(https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?
0 it ironic that Governor Bryant began his statement by saying, "You want me to
I find
lang=en&text=Working+Moms%3A+Don%27t+Give+Governor+Bryant%27s+Comments+a+Second+Thought+http%3A%2F%2Fhuff.to%2F1bdKwLD)
tell the truth?" when what he finished the statement with isn't actually the truth. I
could go on for hours about the many ways in which his comments are wrong
(http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?
1
(morally,
ethically, socially), but I've got kids to cram into clothes and shoes for school
media=&description=Working+Moms%3A+Don%27t+Give+Governor+Bryant%27s+Comments+a+Second+Thought&url=http%3A//www.huffingtonpost.com/katherineand
stacks of work waiting for me at the office.
Comment
wintsch/working-moms-dont-give-governor-bryants-comments-a-second-thought_b_3402641.html)
Let's keep this short and sweet and focus on how factually wrong his statement is. In
the past 30 years, while the number of mothers entering the workforce has
increased... so have national math and reading evaluation scores.
http://www.huﬃngtonpost.com/katherine-wintsch/working-moms-dont-give-governor-bryants-comments-a-second-thought_b_3402641.html
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Working Moms: Don't Give Governor Bryant's Comments a Second Thought | Katherine Wintsch
3/16/15, 9:32 AM
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So, the good news is that Gov. Bryant is wrong, as this data so clearly proves. The bad
news is that ill-informed comments such as these have a tendency to take hold and
play into the already deep-seated doubts raging inside working mothers across the
country.
I've studied moms in 17 countries around the world and my research shows that selfdoubt is the one overriding emotion among moms. It's a common theme across all
income levels, cultures and backgrounds. And while all moms grapple with doubt,
working moms must also navigate the guilt that comes with feeling like one person
trying to live and thrive (and sometimes just survive) in two different worlds.
So, lady friends... resist the temptation to let this man's inaccurate comments make
you doubt your life choices for one second. Besides, most mothers in this country
simply don't have a choice. The latest research shows that a full two-thirds of the
"breadwinning moms" in this country are single moms earning a median income of
$23,000 a yea (http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/05/29/breadwinner-moms/)r.
And while mothers across the country can, and should, read Governor Bryant the riot
act... the one mother leading the charge should be his own wife, who worked outside
the home for over 38 years, including while their children were growing up.
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Yes, Governor, working mothers do take time away from their jobs to help their
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Working Moms: Don't Give Governor Bryant's Comments a Second Thought | Katherine Wintsch
MORE: Motherhood, Phil Bryant, Pew Research Center, Phil Bryant Mississippi Governor, Working Moms,
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3/16/15, 9:32 AM
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Working Moms: Don't Give Governor Bryant's Comments a Second Thought | Katherine Wintsch
3/16/15, 9:32 AM
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