What Working Moms Want in This Election

Working mom on a lunch break 

“You’re one kid’s flu away from balance going out the window, no matter how fine-tuned you think your schedule is.” Ivanka Trump

As I predicted when I was last featured on PCNC Night Talk, the issues that are important to working moms are front and center this election season. (For comments about that appearance, click here.) Indeed, last Thursday in Ivanka Trump's speech introducing her father, she focused on working mom issues. She said that her father believed in ability over gender and that he would be a champion of laws promoting equality.

Working Moms Want One Thing in This Election: We want to have a candidate that appreciates our issues and makes them a priority. 

In a word, Ivanka appealed to working moms and she did it wearing a really chic sheath, of her own design. The monetary gain for the Trumps because of this election will be enormous. Whatever the outcome, the Trump family wins economically and in notoriety. Also, from a citizenship perspective, being selected as the Republican nominee has absolved all of Donald Trump's sins and will result in his family becoming even richer. It's a true American story--how he secured the election using the art of the deal.

To be clear, I am an Ivanka Trump fan. I am impressed by her poise, her accomplishments, and her profits. I also admire her hustle. Using the Republican National Convention as the most widely viewed commercial for her own brand was pure genius. That said, they probably need to evaluate the rules about that because that seems inappropriate. Brands who are used in movies have to pay for that product placement. I digress though...

Regardless of Mr. Trump's personal success, and the success of his family, one important question remains.

Is Donald Trump really a champion for working moms? Will he really make America great for working moms? Time will tell if his "pro-working mom" message comes from his mouth and not the mouth of his eloquent daughter. He has been quoted as saying that pregnancy is an inconvenience to employers. That doesn't inspire confidence in me. (I say this despite my being impressed by him when we met.)

I believe Ivanka when she says that she understands what it means to be a working mom. She has three kids and runs her own company and is involved in her father's companies. She is well-regarded by her peers and she looks amazing. For us professional working moms, she kind of represents an ideal.   Unlike Sheryl Sandberg, her interviews about the struggle working moms confront seems relatable. She may just have good advisoers, but I think that she actually gets it. Some issues--seeing your kids, spending adequate time with them, making them feel loved--are not cured with money. Those issues are only cured with time, and the more you try to do, the less time you have.

Like all working moms, Ivanka Trumps is trying to do the best she can. She is also a loyal daughter and I respect that. And while I desperately want to have lunch with her I cannot embrace her father as my candidate. 

As I watched the Democratic National Convention on CSPAN and saw the parade of successful women, many of whom were working moms, present on stage, I was impressed. The presentation was less slick, less chic, and the women's blow outs were not nearly as good as Ivanka's. Still they were sincere and I beieved them. When I listened to Senator Kristen Gillibrand talk discuss her struggle to coordinate dropping her kids off at school with her congressional demands, I was convinced that she understood my struggle. When she said, "When families are strong America is strong!" I wanted to jump into the television and shout, "AMEN! HALLELUJAH!"

You see, the future of this country depends on the strength of its families. Families create our economic opportunities, raise the soldiers, future leaders, tax payers, and social security contributors, and families provide our support. America is not and cannot be great without strong families. And supporting working moms who are a huge part of the workforce, and increasingly the primary breadwinner, is essential.

This election season, working moms should vote for the candidate that best represents their interests.

Democrats have a much better track record on womens' issues. However, if this election season has any lesson at all, it is that whomever controls the message controls the outcome. Republicans have a position on this issue as discussed by Ivanka Trump. Continue to listen to what Mr. Trump has to say to determine whether he is a true champion of working mothers and you decide who you are voting for.

To be clear, I'm with her.

May the best party win!