New Campaign Urges Women to "Mom Up" to Close the Working Mom Wage Gap

Moms are strong as hell; between carrying, birthing, and caring for their babies, it seems like there's nothing a mother can't do — except earn as much money as their male counterparts once they go back to work. A new campaign from The Mom Project — a digital platform that creates flexible work opportunities to allow women to remain engaged in both their careers and families — is seeking to end the working mom wage gap by shedding light on just how large that gap actually is.

In a video for the #MomUpAmerica campaign, a group of badass working moms address the issues they have faced since returning back to work, tying them in with their achievements in motherhood. "If I can push a nine pound baby out of my lady parts, I can push the envelope at work," one mom says. Another adds: "I lost six weeks of sleep the year my daughter was born. I'm pretty sure I can burn the midnight oil."

However, one mom's candid comment seems to be the driver for the entire video. "I change about 4,000 diapers a year," she says. "But there is some crap I won't take." The crap she's referring to, of course, is the fact that working mothers earn nearly a third less and as low as 46 cents for every dollar than their male counterparts at work.

Allison Robinson, founder of The Mom Project and the lead on this campaign, explained to POPSUGAR Moms why it's so vital we urge our elected representatives to prioritize policies that benefit working families. "The campaign is rooted in the insight that most female professionals start their careers at near wage parity with men, but then struggle to keep pace with men on this measure as they begin to juggle work and family life," she said. "While our national gender pay gap improves year over year, the 29-percent wage penalty mothers face shows little sign of improving."

Women are just as qualified for their jobs after children as they were before starting a family, so the real question is: why are they valued even less once they share their professional titles with the added title of "Mom"?

"Keeping mothers in the workforce and earning fair pay is key to future economic stability for our country," Robinson said. "At The Mom Project, we have taken the time to speak to thousands of mothers who have shared with us what they need to remain in the workforce and achieve pay equity — notably flexible work, paid leave, and affordable child care."

Robinson hopes that the #MomUpAmerica campaign will drive more public awareness to this lack of equality and that anyone who sees this incredible video will take the time to reach out to their elected officials, which they can do right on the campaign's website.

As the video states, "The (lack of) buck stops here."