December 2007

Social Insecurity: In US, two-thirds of middle-class families face financial insecurity -- plus related articles; Study finds one-third of Americans are downwardly mobile; risk is greater for African Americans -- plus related resources and articles; Poverty, racial bias contribute to overrepresentation of African American children in foster care. Work & Family: OECD recommends work-life reconciliation policies for family well-being, economic growth; Stressed much? Work, money and parenting are major sources of stress for Americans; Business Week: Can you afford to raise your kids?; More news and commentary on work & family. Motherhood & Mothering: Knocking yourself up, post-partum plastic surgery, and other madness. Women: Notable news and commentary about women & gender equity. Reproductive Health & Rights: Candidates on sex ed, more about sex, and other noteworthy items on women's reproductive health.

November 2007

Not Getting By: Even with public work supports, millions of low-income working families in U.S. cannot afford basic needs; Related articles on the widening gap. Families, Work & Public Policy: Work-life research series offers policy overviews for state legislators, advocates; Rural mothers more likely to be employed than urban moms; Study establishes minimum adequate payment rates for care of foster children; Notable news and commentary on families, work & public policy. Heath Care & Women's Health: National Women's Law Center releases report on women's health in the states; Jobs, gender and depression; Non-profit medical group offers parent guides on medication for kids with ADHD, depression; More news on health care & women's health. Mothers & Fathers: Greater Good Magazine covers 21st century families; Child custody, fatherhood 2.0, and more news and commentary about parenting and families; Reproductive Health & Rights: U.S maternal death rates higher than Europe's; adoption and abortion; what they don't tell you about childbirth; countering anti-choice rhetoric.

September/October 2007

Research & Reports: Family values at work: 9to5, MultiState Working Families Consortium call for guaranteed sick days, paid family and medical leave; Taking the high road: Policy proposal outlines need to improve job quality for low-wage workers, plus related briefs and articles; Future of Children report: Policy experts say next generation of antipoverty measures should focus on male employment; Update on state child care assistance policies. Workforce: Top companies for working mothers skimp on paid childbirth leave; More news and commentary on women & work. Motherhood & Parenting: Sharing housework, the diaper-free movement, breastfeeding & public policy, more. Women & Men: Pornography and masculinity, selling cosmetic surgery as an empowerment movement, do candidate's health care proposal measure up for women? Reproductive Health & Rights: Racial disparities in maternal and infant mortality, men & abortion, sex-selecting for girls, more.

August 2007

Women & Work: Report finds gender stereotyping slows advancement of women executives; New brief on multi-generational workforce; More news and commentary on women & work. Child Well-Being: 2007 America's Children report released, plus related articles. Mothers, Mothering & Momism: Selected news and commentary on family law, caregiving, and contemporary parenting. Women, Men & Gender: Notable news and commentary on women & politics, boys & girls, and being dangerous. Losing Ground: Weak economy leads to higher spending on work supports for low-income families; Selected news and commentary on income inequality and economic insecurity in America. Reproductive Health & Rights: Sex & health, abortion access, and other noteworthy news and commentary.

June 2007

Public Policy: Getting real about families - Agenda for Shared Prosperity presents forum on families, work and public policy; U.S. Congress: Getting up to speed on work-life policy - Legislation introduced in 110th Congress would help close U.S. policy gap, plus related news and commentary. Reports & Resources: Study finds low wages, high turnover prevalent in the paid caregiving workforce; New project spotlights state variations in support for low -income children and families. Women & the Workplace: Selected news and commentary on women & work. Families: MomsRising launches FamiliesRising.org; Mothers in the military, fathering from prison, hands on dads and other news and commentary on parenting and families. Women & Activism: Taking on the Big Boys, why feminists fight, and more news and commentary about women making change. Reproductive Health & Rights: Throwing money at abstinence-only ed, states see increase in infant mortality, civil unions, more. Social Issues: Demos offers new resource on wealth-and-income inequality; More reporting and commentary on social issues.

May 2007

Work & the Workplace: Opt-Out Revolution? Not happening. A new issue brief from the Council for Contemporary Families finds no evidence of a strong downward trend in mothers' workforce participation -- the true trend is that rates stopped rising in the early 1990s; New EEOC guidelines address Family Responsibilities Discrimination; No vacation nation: U.S. is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee paid vacation time; More notable news and commentary on women, work and family. Motherhood & Mothering: State of the World's Mothers 2007, round up of Mother's Day news stories and commentaries -- and more. Women: Noteworthy news and commentary on women's issues and feminism. Social Issues: U.S. health care costly, low quality; Progressive proposal would cut U.S. poverty in half. Reproductive health & rights: Backline offers toll free talk line; More reproductive health & right news.

April 2007

Reports: Debunking the brainy baby industry. Women, Work & Wages: For college-educated women, wage gap sets in one year after graduation; WAGE Project reports national survey results; Labor Bureau finds little change in married mothers' workforce participation since 1997; More notable news and commentary on women and the workforce. Women's Issues: Selected articles on what's happening with women and why we still need feminism. Reproductive Health & Rights: Abstinence-only education has no impact on teens' sexual behavior; More reproductive health & rights news. Poverty & Health Care: NWLC releases issue brief on women's health care coverage; Recent articles on income & health inequality.

March 2007

Child Care: Child care standards fall short on basic measures of safety and quality in all 50 states; National Women's Law Center releases new guides on strengthening family, friend and neighbor child care, organizing home-based child care providers; Other child care news & reports. Worklife: One-third of U.S. jobs are low wage, low benefits, low flexibility; Labor Project for Working Families releases Flextime Tool Kit; Selected news and commentary on worklife and the workplace. Mothers & Mothering: New online magazine for college moms; Other news and commentary on mothers & mothering. Women's Issues: Notable news and commentary on feminism, sexist language, women's rights, the high cost of manliness. Society: Notable news on child well-being, children and immigration policy, U.S. health care. Family Violence: In single day, U.S. domestic violence programs provide critical services to over 50,000 children and adults. Plus: related articles. Reproductive Health & Rights: Mom, Dad I'm Pregnant; More reproductive health & rights news.

February 2007

Where I've been: Report on the Summit to Ensure the Health and Humanity of Pregnant and Birthing Women, January 18 - 21, Atlanta, Georgia; Mothers' movement leaders call for immediate ceasefire in the "mommy wars." Work-Life: More of same - New study finds U.S. lags behind other developed nations in ensuring decent working conditions for families; Report highlights characteristics of lower-wage workforce, need for flexibility in low-wage jobs; Survey suggests executive women are at leading edge in adopting successful career strategies; More notable news and commentary on work-life and working families. Public policy: You are not on your own - Economic Policy Institute's Agenda for Shared Prosperity Initiative calls for a new generation of social and economic reform in America; New resource stresses link between social spending, children at risk; More news and commentary on public policy and progressive thought. Mothers & mothering: Mothers on top - Selected commentary on women in leadership and the motherhood factor; More news and commentary on motherhood and mothering. Women & men: Women and marriage; fatherhood initiative; more. Miscellany: Other notable news and commentary from elsewhere on the web.