Have you ever encountered one of those ridiculous stock images of a working mother juggling a smiling baby on her lap as she joyfully types on her computer, seemingly completing endless assignments with ease? Jessica Shortall noticed that these photos are all over the place and she decided to take a stand. In her phenomenal TED talk, which garnered 1 million views in just two months, Ms. Shortall showed what life for working mothers really looks like— especially without paid family and medical leave. She demonstrated that, without paid leave, life as a working mother isn’t nearly as seamless as those misleading photos make it look and that working mothers need and deserve much more support than they currently receive.

We are thrilled to announce that the Connecticut Campaign for Paid Family Leave will be hosting the brilliant Ms. Shortall for  an event entitled “Worry. Work. Repeat: Life Without Paid Leave” on Wednesday, April 13th from 5:30-7:30PM. In addition to being a nationally recognized speaker, Ms. Shortall is also the author of Work. Pump. Repeat: The New Mom’s Guide to Surviving Breastfeeding and Going Back to Work, which was published in 2015, and many important articles on paid leave. We are so excited that she will be joining us for this event.

The event will feature a conversation between Ms. Shortall and Ellen Bravo, the Executive Director of Family Values at Work, followed by a question-and-answer period. Ms. Shortall will discuss the status of work and family in our country, and how to transform our workplaces and communities. It should be a very stimulating discussion!

The event will be held at the Hartford Region YWCA, which is located at 135 Broad Street in Hartford. Free parking is available and refreshments will be served. Tickets can be purchased at www.cwealf.org/news-events. We hope to see you there!

 

Check out some of our favorite articles written by Ms. Shortall on the value of paid family leave:

Published by cwealffmli