Charlize Theron, Eva Longoria, and other famous actors have joined a call urging President Joe Biden to support mothers as the coronavirus pandemic continues – by paying them for their unseen labour.
Fifty high-profile women, including actors and comedians Amy Schumer, Gabrielle Union, and Alyssa Milano have lent their names to a campaign led by Girls Who Code CEO Reshma Saujani. The movement, which took out a full-age ad in The New York Times this Tuesday, asks President Biden to put into place a “Marshall Plan for Moms”.
The Marshall Plan was a US-sponsored programme implemented from 1948 to 1951, meant to provide economic support to a list of European countries in the wake of World War II.
“Like the original Marshall Plan of 1948, this plan would be a financial investment in rebuilding from the ground up,” reads a statement in support of the Marshall Plan for Moms campaign.
The statement highlights the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mothers, citing a report by the National Women’s Law Centre according to which there were 2.2m fewer women in the US workforce in October 2020 than in February of that year.
“Covid has decimated so many of our careers,” the statement reads in part. “…Millions more have been forced to cut back our hours or work around the clock to keep our jobs and be full-time caregivers.”
The campaign is asking President Biden to “establish a task force to create a Marshall Plan for Moms”, “implement a short-term monthly payment to moms depending on needs and resources”, and “pass long overdue policies like paid family leave, affordable childcare and pay equity.”
Connie Britton, activist Tarana Burke, Ana Ortiz, and Amber Tamblyn have also supported the campaign publicly.
