The Video That Powerfully Illustrates Just How Severely Moms Have Been Neglected During The Pandemic
Meet 3 superhero moms.
Secret Deodorant Amid the Covid pandemic, many moms have reached their breaking point struggling to balance economic and health concerns with their need to be there for their kids.
Yet these resilient women continue to unappreciated and unsupported.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 2.5 million women have been pushed out of the workforce: a combination of the strain the pandemic has put on the economy and the reality that many women are forced to pick up the slack when schools and daycares close.
The pandemic has exposed how, in spite of women’s workforce progress, childcare and home-making duties constantly fall on women rather than being shared equally with male partners.
Being a working mom has an entirely different definition than being a working dad with the former left to balance career goals with unpaid and unrecognized work in the home. This regression of women’s careers is estimated to amount to $64.5 billion per year in lost wages and economic activity.
Being a mom can be a thankless job at the best of times and though they don’t often look for help or praise, that doesn’t mean moms shouldn’t get it.
Secret Deodorant is doing just that.
In response to the crisis moms face during the pandemic, Secret is launching "Secret Superhero Moms". Watch the moving trailer below.
This eye-opening three-part docuseries takes a look at how women are forced to rise above financial concerns and career obstacles in order to continue to support their children.
The docuseries is in collaboration with YWCA and steps into the shoes of three working mothers who, in spite of it all, show up every day for the ones they love. Chelena, Martha, and Tali are the faces of women who face vast challenges as working mothers during the COVID crisis.
Battling unemployment, balancing multiple jobs, and working on the frontline — all while trying to provide for their children both physically and emotionally — these women voice the concerns too many mothers are dealing with.
Chelena
This single mom of five is balancing caring for two sets of twins and a 2-year old. She is a healthcare administrator who, like many Black women, is unemployed.
As the sole care-giver for her son who was born with kidney failure, she made the difficult decision to give up her job in order to be able to homeschool and care for her children during the pandemic.
Martha
Martha, a mother of four from Elgin, IL, works two jobs 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. After moving to the US from Mexico with no family support, the pandemic has made things even more difficult.
Hispanic women face unemployment at a rate that has quadrupled during the pandemic. With the odds stacked against her, Martha is working harder than most for her children.
Tali
Tali is a frontline healthcare worker in Atlanta who worries every day that coming home from work and hugging her children could expose them to COVID.
After her husband was forced to give up work to care for their kids, Tali became the sole provider for her family all while grieving the loss of her own superhero mom.
In the series, Secret says that 90% of mothers worry they are not doing a good enough job for their children, yet when you see Chelena, Martha, and Tali’s children expressing praise and love for their moms, it’s clear that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
These women are going above and beyond for their children — but who is doing the same for them?
Secret has pledged $1 million to fight back against this gendered labor crisis.
As part of the devotion to ending gender inequality and combating the ‘she-cession’ economic crisis, Secret is paying the childcare costs of these three women and many more.
As part of their $1 million pledge, the brand is helping pay for childcare, workforce development, and barrier reduction programs and services for more than 100,000 women and their families serviced by YWCA.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment.