Pushing the Motherhood Cause

MomsRising says it is nonpartisan, but more conservative women's groups say they are not likely to embrace its platform. "We have a fundamental disagreement on what the role of government is," said Michelle Bernard, president of the Independent Women's Forum.

Bernard also takes issue with the statistics MomsRising cites. In considering the wage gap, for example, she said, "it's not as large as they say it is, and it is not uniformly because of discrimination. It has a lot to do with the career choices."

For Love in Silver Spring, activist mothering is an idea whose time had come. A senior staff member on Capitol Hill for 10 years, she now works from home as a consultant.

On busy days, after her young son goes to bed, Love finds herself getting to her e-mail after midnight, and she likes the idea that MomsRising lets her know what is happening -- and how she can weigh in. Sometimes, she will dash off a quick missive to a lawmaker or sign an online petition. "We all care," she said, "but the irony is, none of us has time to devote more than 30 minutes a week."

The six friends she invited to her house party were graduate school buddies from Georgetown University. Four are employed; two stay home with their kids.

On that April morning, they watched as the documentary unfolded with a dramatic story of discrimination in hiring mothers and with statistics about unequal pay.

It had salary comparisons: Women make 90 percent of what men receive. But mothers make only 73 percent of what men get -- and single mothers 60 percent -- the film asserts, based on a Columbia University study.

Then came a comparison of family-leave policies: The United States lags behind most of the world, the narrator said, and its lack of benefits puts it in a class with several third-world nations, a statistic based on a Harvard University study.

Several women gasped.

The film said the No. 1 reason highly paid women leave the workforce is to spend time with their families. It went on with stories about child-care problems and family health-care calamities.

When it ended, the conversations began.

One woman observed that the documentary included dire stories of women for whom paid leave and health care would make a big difference.