Being a working mother requires a lot of juggling. For moms in the Michigan Legislature, that often means balancing long commutes, impromptu late-night sessions, and weekend meetings with constituents along with nursing, helping kids with homework, taking them to basketball practice, and more. .
And so, even with more women running for public office than ever before, there is still a large “mother gap” in the Legislature. To clarify this, the Michigan Advance reported this week that in the past 100 years since the first woman was elected to the Legislature, only 27 female legislators have been mothers of school-aged children while serving. That’s the same number of male lawmakers who are parents of school-age children right now.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a surprise, as mothers continue to be the majority of primary caregivers – something that was highlighted during the pandemic when thousands of parents were suddenly working from home. And yet, it was the mothers, in most families, who ended up caring for the kids as they struggled to get their work done and get through Zoom calls without their child screaming or waddling at the board.
The ‘Mom Gap’: Few Mothers Served in the Michigan Legislature While Raising Their Children
When I started covering the Michigan Capitol two decades ago, it was a decidedly male-dominated club, with the average age probably in the mid-40s (if I’m being generous). After the Great Recession hit and layoffs decimated the press, you could count the number of women on one hand (and I was the only mother for a while).
Things have changed a lot these days, with women, especially in their 20s, dominating our ranks. But there is still a huge maternal gap in the media. And I completely understand why.
Being a reporter isn’t a 9 to 5 job and covering politics can be… a lot. There are many people without children who abandon journalism because they say it is very difficult to achieve a good work-life balance. When you have little humans that need you to survive, this sometimes becomes impossible.
My journalism career almost ended before it started, after I got pregnant with my first child, right after getting my first real job at an Iowa newspaper. As I ran around covering state budget cuts and school events, while my husband and I enthusiastically painted the nursery and stocked up on newborn clothes, I didn’t realize that some editors had decided that I shouldn’t be so dedicated to my career. . (So much for having it all).
Over the next few years, I tried to impress them by volunteering for any task. But occasionally I had to take my daughter with me when my child care failed, like when I was covering former Vermont governor Howard Dean’s campaign during the 2004 Iowa caucuses. (Although he seemed delighted with my baby, he still hasn’t answered my question about his health insurance).
The next few newspapers I worked for, I learned my lesson and didn’t even put pictures of my son on my desk. I can’t say for sure that it helped me get better jobs…. But I don’t think it hurt.
When I started covering the Michigan Capitol full time, I was a single mother with no family in the state. I wrote three or four stories a day, plus I freelanced so I could put something toward my daughter’s college fund so my day never ended when she finished her extracurricular program. This meant a lot of nights and weekends working from home, which my boss didn’t like and my single coworkers resented (even though I worked even harder just to prove myself).
And then there was a lot of mom guilt as I had to rush to my son’s winter concert because the Legislature was late or I realized I forgot the dishes from her school birthday party and tried not to break down in the car.
Meanwhile, the only female politician I covered who was navigating single parenthood was then-Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, whose children are the same age as mine. Occasionally, we would have frank conversations about the struggle after committee sessions or hearings.
But motherhood is still seen by many as a political weakness. One of my former colleagues considered Whitmer to be a lighthearted person and told me he knew she would “never go anywhere in politics when she got pregnant after being elected” (which seemed very familiar). I haven’t spoken to him since she became Michigan’s 49th governor and made the list of all 2028 presidential candidates.
And who could forget when Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum was asked a decade ago about the possibility of running for state office when she had 3- and 5-year-old children. “But don’t the kids want Mommy at home?” was a real question she asked. (You will be terribly surprised to learn that the reporter was a man).
The satirical website Wonkette summed up the episode with one of the biggest headlines in the world: “Michigan lady can run for public office even though she has children, what’s up with that?”
I’d like to think that things have changed enough that women today don’t have to put up with such blatant sexism, but I think we all know that’s not true. I will say that women are more open now about what to expect when you’re expecting while running for public office or chasing a young child.
Being open about the challenges of motherhood helps other women in politics feel less alone. And working toward solutions like more affordable child care and better postpartum health care can help parents across the state.
Many powerful women in Michigan and states across the country were willing to share their stories with us in the States Newsroom for our Mother’s Day series, “The Mother Load.”
There are many people without children who abandon journalism because they say it is very difficult to achieve a good work-life balance. When you have little humans that need you to survive, this sometimes becomes impossible.
“My children arrive even before work. That might not be good for everyone to hear,” state Rep. Rachelle Smit (R-Martin) told Advance. “If my own priorities in my personal life and as a wife and mother aren’t aligned, I also don’t feel like I can be the best at my job.”
I respect that a lot.
When I purchased Inside Michigan Politics in 2013, I was finally able to work mostly from home and be there for my kids the way I wanted. I was there to take my daughter and new stepson to school and pick them up afterward. I never had to miss a football or football game. When I was recruited to start the Michigan Advance Over five years ago, my kids were in high school but still (somehow) wanted me around, so having flexibility meant everything.
Of course, not everyone is that lucky, which is one reason mothers of young children continue to be a minority in both the Michigan Legislature and the Capitol press corps.
I know we can do better.
