Between the hot air over the breastfeeding crusader Giselle and the cool air over the 8 week unpaid maternity leave SJC ruling in Massachusetts, it seems a new mother can’t get a break these days.

I can remember feeling I could walk out the door at around 6 weeks after the birth of my first child, and felt like my pre-pregnancy-mental-self around 7 months.

I was super lucky to land a job that allowed me to work from home and care for my baby in those early days of his life.  I was the one to share those awakening moments as he began to observe life around him; not a daycare or hired Nanny.  Not everyone is as lucky as me.

All in all, we cannot “bitch and moan” about the state of women’s policies in the United States until we get more representation at the local, state and national level. We need to engage girls to run for office. We need to engage young women to vote for strong women. We need to encourage women to become judges. All in all, we need to rise up and not tear down our peers, and need to act and not react to policies like these.

We need to vote.

With local business women like Christine Koh of Posh Peacock/Boston Mamas, and Sheri Gurock of Magic Beans, we have strong women at the business level.  Now, we need more like-minded women in public office.  Something we all need to think about the next time we see a sign like this….