It’s time for corporate America to start viewing working moms as the assets that they are.
Freelance platform Upwork is spreading that message with a two-pronged campaign called #MotherhoodWorks, launched on Friday, ahead of Mother’s Day. The campaign raises awareness about the value working mothers bring to the labor force and challenges businesses to consider a mom for their next hire.
The campaign includes a 60-second video featuring real moms having moments with their families during the height of the pandemic, each highlighting translatable skills to the professional world. Shorter cuts will be distributed on social media
The videos direct viewers to a landing page called “Hire a Mom,” where working moms can apply for remote gigs and find skills certification, coaching and networking events.
Melissa Waters, chief marketing officer of Upwork, said that the exodus of women from the workforce during the pandemic sparked the idea for Upwork to advocate working moms. Women accounted for 63% of job loss between 2020 and 2022. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 1.6 million mothers left the workforce in 2020.
“As a company led by a strong population of mothers, we felt called to honor working moms and their superpower skills that make them outstanding leaders,” Waters said. “We hope this communication inspires mothers who have contemplated relaunching or innovating their careers to achieve a sense of independence, freedom and flexibility through skilled freelancing.”
Upwork’s campaign also recognizes an implicit bias against mothers in the workplace, who “must work twice as hard to prove themselves,” Waters said.
“However, many of the same qualities that make them great mothers — creative problem-solvers, excellent multitaskers, dependable decision-makers — also make them excellent hires,” she said. “They possess highly valued and easily transferable skills.”
The campaign will run until May 31.
