Pushing the Motherhood Cause

"We have a two-tiered society," another said. "We have those things, and many people don't."

The women wanted to know more about the sources of the statistics. One wanted more conservative voices.

Someone brought up health care. Why, she asked, don't people see the long-term savings that would come with funding health care for all children?

Some volunteered their own stories: about an employer that said no to a four-day week, another that expected full-time work in part-time hours, another that kept telecommuting unofficial, almost secret.

"You actually still have to push these things," one woman lamented.

Love encouraged everyone to get involved. As mothers, she said, "we don't have time, which I think is the key reason why we haven't seen more changes."

A Multi-Platform Movement

The mothers' discussion is some of what Blades and Rowe-Finkbeiner had in mind when they started MomsRising.

Blades, 51, a mother of two in Berkeley, Calif., is a trained mediator who became an activist when she and her husband, Wes Boyd, founded MoveOn.org.

Rowe-Finkbeiner, 38, is a mother of two in the Seattle area who has been active in state politics and authored a book called "The F Word: Feminism in Jeopardy." Her husband is a former Republican state Senate majority leader.

Their collaboration came after Blades read Rowe-Finkbeiner's book manuscript and was struck by statistics about wage gaps. "I wasn't aware," she said. "Most people think that women are on an even playing field."

Together the women created the organization, the DVD and a book, "The Motherhood Manifesto: What America's Moms Want and What to Do About It," published last May. They say 500 to 1,000 people sign up weekly.

There are no dues to join MomsRising, but e-mails to members include a request for donations. The group does not have a political action committee.