Change 1

This post gets a number. Change is what I'm pondering over, and I can't write, or even think, it all in a single post. Look for change, followed by many numbers. I'm often asked if I think real change for the situations women and mothers face is possible. At times I feel like a cheerleader: change must be possible, it has to happen, there's too many lives at stake. We women and mothers must be included in our nation's promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to it's citizens.

At other times, I'm not sure. I can see things getting worse. I think that the NYTimes article on college students last week was very much about representatives of a cohort saying that they've lost faith in the post 1960's american contract, that we can all have families and earn a living, on equal terms.

And last night at MotherTalk, the question that struck me the most was, what can we do. The problem is so large. And believe me, it's not like I have the answer behind my back and I'm just not telling. It's like anything: when you have a vision about how to make something, or make something better, but there's no explicit directions, and getting from here to there can seem a bit magical.

So, for the moment, some pieces, some attempts.

I'll be talking more with her next week, but when I spoke at Barnard a met a women who runs an executive coaching firm called Vital Signage. And check out this announcement on her website, www.vitalsignage.com.

"New Practice Area: Integrating Livelihood and Motherhood

VitalSignage has started a practice for pregnant professionals and new working mothers. If your company is committed to retaining your high potential female executives and managers as they move through a profound life change, VitalSignage Coaching is your resource. With an emphasis on integrating livelihood and motherhood, the coaching program uses the multiple identities and roles of women to expand their leadership development and innovate the ways in which they contribute to the organization.
Contact us to find out more."

Sometimes change is big and loud and happens out in the streets, and sometimes it is quiet and persistence, and comes from a web in every direction, making it hard to track, hard to quantify, but it happens nonetheless. That's what I'm betting is happening. It needs energy. I'm going to start, and keep, tracking down small sites around our homes and schools and workplaces where change is happening, so send me info if you have it.

More to come.