As an American business woman, I’m constantly aware of the inequities faced by my gender in the American business world. The pandemic year has been particularly hard on women in business. The losses falling disproportionately on working mothers and hardest on those who are BIPOC. I am not a Mother, and yet the kitchen garden series wouldn’t exist without the many professional women with children in my network. My financial advisor is a working mother, as is my accountant, some of my marketing consultants, many shop owners that stock my wares, the artists I collaborate with and the production manager of the shop that sews for me as well as a large number of the amazing seamstresses there.

A year ago I wrote a blog about my bright spots under quarantine. One of them I called “knowing the essentials”. I wrote “As a consequence of sheltering in place, I've had a great opportunity to notice what's essential to my well being. I can choose what's vital to my mental health and I can use the skills I've gained to re-examine my choices from time to time. “ At the end of this long year, I realize that my work is essential to my well being. It is one of the things that has gotten me through this pandemic, keeping my mind engaged and my hands busy and it contributes to my sense of self worth, giving meaning to my days, weeks, months. I’m proud to have kept my business afloat and continued to help the professional women with children in my network keep their businesses afloat.

Mother’s day is coming and, whether or not you get Mom a gift, take the time to let her know you see her struggle. According to the US department of labor, since the start of the pandemic, over 2 million women nationwide have dropped out of the workforce. Most of them Mothers who made the sacrifice in the face of school closures.

Here are a couple of ways you can help Professional Women with children regain some of what the pandemic took from them.

• If you are in business, join me in making a commitment to working business to business with woman owned companies and making sure 30% of those are BIPOC.
• If you are not in business, spend your dollars with woman owned companies and choose those who do business with 30% BIPOC and woman owned companies.

So, if your mother has been lusting after one of our Mothers day sets, by all means get it for her! She deserves it and you can confidently tell her that you got it from a company that is committed to women and BIPOC in business. If a handmade card is what you’re planning, that’s perfect too! Either way, start the conversation with Mom and everyone else about gender and racial equity in business. If we are to regain the equity lost during this pandemic and progress beyond pre-pandemic equity, the numbers matter!