Motherhood labor protections are a human right.

According to the U.S. Census, working mothers make up nearly ⅓ (32%) of all employed women in the labor force. Yet, mothers are 40% more likely than fathers to report that child care issues harmed their careers and about ¼ of working moms say they have turned down a promotion because they were balancing work and parenting.

The way capitalism views motherhood needs to change. Period.

Enter &Mother - a non-profit dedicated to breaking down the barriers that limit a woman’s choice to pursue and thrive in both career and motherhood.

Founded in 2020 by Olympic medalist Alysia Montaño and advocate Molly Dickens, &Mother’s inception occurred after Montaño published her viral New York Times op-ed, Nike Told Me to Dream Crazy, Until I Wanted a Baby, which highlighted the lack of sponsor support for female athletes choosing to become mothers during their athletic careers.

“Stereotyped assumptions of a mother’s capability and value has led to a society that consciously or unconsciously chooses one path for them, rather than elevating both”, said Montaño. “We envision a culture where motherhood is not a limiting factor in how women succeed professionally or personally.”

Enter Oiselle - now an official Founding Sponsor of &Mother. In addition to a financial contribution, Oiselle is committed to providing legal/consulting fee support to develop boilerplate language for contractual pregnancy and parenting protections for athletes (more to come on that).

In celebration of this partnership, we asked mothers in both Oiselle and &Mother's community to tell us what motherhood means to them:

Angela, children ages 11 & 8

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/angela?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Arnelle, child age 6

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/arnelle?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Cate, child age 4 months

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/cate?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Ivette, child age 7

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/ivette?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Jennifer, child age 6 months

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/jennifer?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Jessica, children ages 4 years & 18 months

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/jessica?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Karla, children ages 6 years & 11 months

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/karla?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Lyndy, child ages 2.5

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/lyndy?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Rebecca, child age 16

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/rebecca?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Shannon, child age 3

Link:  https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/shannon?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Stephanie D., children ages 11 & 9

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/stephanie-d?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Stephanie R., children ages 10 years, 7 years, & 10 months

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/stephanie-r?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Tawnya, children ages 7 & 5

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/tawnya?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio

Teal, children ages 4 years & 3 months

Link: https://soundcloud.com/oiselle/teal?in=oiselle/sets/mother-audio 

Want to get involved with &Mother? Join the mission here.