The National Organization for Women (NOW) has taken aim at the media’s coverage of mothers, which frequently pits mothers who work outside the home against those who do not. This kind of coverage was seen on a recent episodes of “Good Morning America” with Diane Sawyer, in which women were asked to describe how their choice to work outside the home or not was somehow “better” than the alternatives.
In a letter to Sawyer and ABC, NOW President Kim Gandy wrote that the women interviewed seemed uncomfortable with the false dichotomy being presented, and that women who work outside the home out of economic necessity were left out by a story that “manages to both exclude and scold them.” “Years of feminist-led progress have resulted in more options for women, but segments like the “Mommy Wars” imply that we still can’t trust individual women to make the best decisions for themselves and their families,” wrote Gandy. Instead, Gandy suggested that the popular morning program cover the issues that all mothers face, including childcare, health insurance, early childhood education and the role of men in modern families.
TAKE ACTION Visit NOW.org to read Kim Gandy’s letter and send a letter of your own to Good Morning America
