PODCAST:

No Country for Mothers documentary, an investigation into the systems and cultures that deny mothers adequate support, will be screening with a panel discussion and Q&A on Wednesday, September 30th 5:30 – 8:30pm at The Violet Crown.

TRANSCRIPT:

Dana Douglas:

You’re listening to WTJU Charlottesville. For Arts this Week, we spoke to Kate Byrne about the American Motherhood Tour: No Country for Mothers screening, which will be held at the Violet Crown Wednesday, September 30th, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Kate Byrne:

Thanks so much, Dana, for having me. I’m Kate Byrne. I am the founder and media host of a podcast, Woman Advancing, as well as an advisor for female founders. This film has become really more than a documentary; it’s really a movement. So I’m really proud to be one of the 2,500 advocate associate producers of the movie.

Dana Douglas:

So, the No Country for Mothers documentary is somewhat of an investigation into the systems and cultures that deny mothers adequate support. Can you tell us a little bit about how the project initially came to be?

Kate Byrne:

So, some of you listening may be familiar with the woman who’s really at the heart of this movement, her name is Rejma Saujani, and she is the founder of Girls Who Code. She has spent the last few years filming and going around and researching mothers of all walks. Those could be traditional mothers, stay-at-home moms, incarcerated mothers, you name it, every shape and form. And the purpose is really this to really get people in a room together to talk about this, and to make people realize once and for all that this is by no means a woman’s issue. It’s truly an economic infrastructure issue. There are no guaranteed paid family and medical leaves. So when someone has to go take care of a family member or a child, as such. There’s no guarantee that they’re getting paid.

Dana Douglas:

Saujani explores these dichotomies and these nuances that maybe people in the broader climate are misunderstanding. What does she think needs to imminently change?

Kate Byrne:

It’s really about the false choice that we give women because we have to choose career or family, ambition or caregiving, and it’s really not an either-or conversation. I like to think because of technology and also just larger communities that we’re beginning to enter what I call the “and” era, where yes, you can have both. Maybe not at the same time, maybe not to the same level, but you can actually live something that is more fulfilling than having to completely black and white give up one thing for that of another.

Dana Douglas:

What do you think is at the root of this issue?

Kate Byrne:

The issue that this happens and why it happens right now is what I call bad math. If you think about it, the way schools have been set up and the education system has been set up, school days are usually largely from nine until three. Well, our workdays are usually eight to four, eight to five, in some cases seven to five, nine to six. Nothing matches, and the latest Department of Labor was revealing that childcare for one child can sometimes take up nearly 20% of someone’s paycheck, which is why a lot of people are now finding themselves saying, “Hmm, can I have a child? Can I afford to have a child?”

Dana Douglas:

After the screening, there will be a panel with local advocates and motherhood resources. What are some of those resources, and what do you hope the panel leads to in conversation?

Kate Byrne:

On the panel, we have got our very own CEO and editor in chief of Charlottesville Tomorrow, Anjali Shah, and then we’ve got Jenny Lynn Walding, who is the founder of Milkmade, which is a maternal assistance issue for those who have problem with nursing. We’ve got Doreen Bonnet, who is the executive director of the Birthing Sisters of Charlottesville. We’ve got Rebecca Berlin, who is the school board chair of Albemarle County Public Schools, and then we’ve got a local stay-at-home mom, Kristen Longhouser Smith. What’s really exciting is that we’re going to have Mayor Juan Diego Wade, and he will be reading a special proclamation that we have written together to demonstrate Charlottesville and the surrounding area’s commitment to this issue.

Dana Douglas:

This film and this movement kind of seems to look past the notion of what a mother should be, and kind of instead point the arrow to what kind of society mothers need to succeed. In Charlottesville specifically, what do you think that that looks like?

Kate Byrne:

That’s a really good question. I think every woman, whatever you choose, and those who identify as women who have children, everyone should have the choice to live the way they want to when they want to, and that also means they may shift that decision. They may change it once they get into it, and really, all of us should be there to help and support, as opposed to judge whatever that looks like. So really, as opposed to being someone who squashes people down, lend out a hand, and lift them up.

Dana Douglas:

For listeners interested in attending, more information can be found at WomenUnited.org. Arts this Week is supported by the UVA Arts Council and Piedmont Virginia Community College. PVCC Arts presents a rich array of dance, music, theater, and visual arts programming. Learn more at pvcc.edu. For WTJU, I’m Dana Douglas.