While many of us were kicking back yesterday enjoying flowers, brunch and our kids’ homemade Mother’s Day crafts, there’s one thing moms could really use that we didn’t get for Mother’s Day: jobs.

The New York Times Economix blog makes the case that what many moms need more than anything is good public support programs that will help them get back to work. Single moms in particular are in desperate need of employment programs: they’re more likely to be without a job than their married counterparts, and they rely on their income more.

What should we do about it?

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That's Dad, not the manny, engaging in unpaid labor. (He's probably Danish.)

What makes a good dad? Lots of things, not the least of which is participation in the daily grind of life. But a lot of men who may even be considered great dads are let off the hook in their countries, creating a huge gender gap.

A new study on the so-called unpaid economy (aka: housework and childcare) found that  in all of the 29 industrialized countries considered in the study, women do more of everything at home than their male partners. On average, women spend almost 2.5 hours more per day on tasks like childcare, laundry and making dinner.

The good news for some countries,though, is that the amount each gender takes on is becoming more equal. The bad news is that there’s still room for lots of improvement in terms of equality (especially if you’re South Korea!). Continue reading »

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John Nelson, like so many others, was a victim of the economic meltdown our country is trying to deal with; he lost his job and was out of work for a year, before finding another, lower-paying position.  Nelson is also a divorced father, ordered to pay child support.  After he was laid off, Nelson filed for a reduction in his child support obligation, but it took more than a year to get a court date and then, when he finally did get to make his case before a judge, the judge actually increased the amount Nelson had to pay, leaving him with just $58 per week to live on.

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If you have to spend the summer unemployed, you could have it a lot worse: a couple of former federal employees who were laid off in January have spent the summer on the road with their six-month-old. They’re at number twenty-two on a trip to hit all thirty Major League Baseball ballparks.

I can’t decide whether to be insanely jealous or glad that I’m not the one on the road with a six-month-old. Continue reading »

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