Latest news with #VoteMama
Forbes
03-06-2025
- General
- Forbes
How Busy Philipps And Vote Mama Are Making Motherhood Electable
Since its founding in 2019, Vote Mama has endorsed more than 600 candidates. Its newest initiative, the Motherboard, is a coalition that unites elected officials, creatives, and movement leaders to amplify the political power of moms through culture, media, and policy. Co-chaired by actor and activist Busy Philipps and Georgia Congresswoman Nikema Williams, the Motherboard brings together cultural influence and political leadership to elevate moms in public office. 'When a mom runs for office, it's usually because something's broken and she's ready to fix it,' explains Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder and CEO of Vote Mama. 'That urgency (that lived experience) cuts through the noise.' 'Right now, it is more expensive than ever to raise a family. The cost of childcare is more than a mortgage in almost every state, and fundamental rights have been on the chopping block. Moms are talking about the issues that matter most, and they're not sugarcoating it,' explains Shirley. What sets these candidates apart is their ability to turn everyday frustrations like finding affordable daycare, navigating public school systems and managing family health care into compelling campaign messages rooted in lived reality. 'We're seeing more moms run unapologetically as themselves. They're campaigning with babies in tow and putting childcare on the platform,' adds Shirley. Philipps states she supports the Motherboard because they aren't about performative allyship. 'I've marched, donated, and spoken out. But it still didn't feel like enough,' she said. 'This organization is an engine for amplifying the issues I care about: abortion rights, paid family leave, maternal health, gun safety and reform, and LGBTQ+ rights. We need real power. Political power. If my platform helps moms running for office get attention, resources, and into rooms they're often shut out of, then I'm doing my job.' This direct connection to family-centered policy resonates deeply with voters. 'People are exhausted and frustrated with performative politics,' Shirley said. 'They want leaders who prioritize action…. moms lead with urgency and empathy because they have to.' 'We launched the Motherboard ahead of Mother's Day to shake things up and to remind people that moms have always been at the frontlines of every major movement, from reproductive justice to gun violence prevention,' Shirley said. By elevating these stories on mainstream platforms, the Motherboard helps shift voter expectations about what leadership looks like, offering real-life, working-mom candidates as compelling, credible alternatives to the status quo. Other Cultural & Creative leaders for the Motherboard include celebrity moms such as Amanda Seyfried and Jodie Sweetin. Philipps explains, 'By harnessing voices that sit at the intersection of media, culture, and policy, we will bring more people into this movement to support pushing moms into power.' She adds that the vision is simple: to connect political power with cultural influence, bringing elected officials and creatives into the same room to build something bigger than politics so they can drive systemic change. As the only woman currently hosting a late-night talk show, Shirley believes Philipps brings both visibility and media savvy to the effort. 'When someone like Busy uses her voice to uplift a school board mama, it makes that mom and her vision become visible in a whole new way. When people see a state legislator like Virginia State Senator Jennifer Carroll Foy or New York Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas, it reshapes expectations of who's qualified to lead. That visibility changes perception, which drives engagement, donations, and ultimately, policy wins.' Philipps believes she brings defiance as well. 'Watching my daughters grow up in a country where their rights are being stripped away, a society that encourages them to shrink themselves, stay quiet, and sit down–I can't be passive in that world. I've built a career out of being unapologetic for taking up space. I want to use that energy to help other moms step into their power.' The Motherboard aims to turn storytelling into action. By increasing public awareness, driving donations and generating local enthusiasm, it plays a crucial role in moving the needle on who runs, who gets funded and who ultimately wins. Shirley says, 'We measure our wins not just in votes, but in whose stories are being told, who's stepping up to run next, and which policies are finally getting passed because we helped moms get the power to push them through.' 'For too long, moms have only been allowed to exist in one of two narratives: either we're perfect and self-sacrificing, or we're messy, selfish, and self-centered,' Philipps said. 'Real moms are complex. They're breastfeeding during briefings. Negotiating budgets before bedtime stories. Writing policy between school pick-ups and making dinner. The Motherboard is how we bust through closed doors, shake up the status quo, and give a loud, unapologetic voice to the people who've been told to wait their turn.' Shirley says the Vote Mama PAC has endorsed nearly 70 candidates so far for 2025 and 2026. But as Election Day approaches, the Motherboard will play a key role in mobilizing voters, generating buzz and redirecting resources toward competitive races. Shirley has a clear vision for what success looks like. 'Electing more moms to local offices like city councils and school boards, where real change for families happens. We're building long-term infrastructure to change the face of leadership at every level.' She wants this moment to be remembered as the turning point when moms stopped asking for a seat at the table and started taking the power to build a new one. Philipps agrees. 'Look, awareness is the first step. It's the foundation for getting people engaged and involved. The next step is building the actual scaffolding that holds moms up politically.' She envisions a future where no mother feels forced to choose between her family and her ambition. 'Fundraising, mentorship, infrastructure, community… all of it,' she said. 'I want to help create a world where any mom can run for office without feeling like she's drowning under the weight of balancing motherhood and her political ambitions.' To the working moms watching from the sidelines, those who may not see themselves as political but want to create change, Shirley has a clear message: you are political. 'If you're figuring out how to pay for daycare, fighting to keep your kids safe in school, or caring for a sick parent, you're already navigating policy every day,' she says. 'You don't need to be a policy expert. You just need the courage to lead and a commitment to your community.' Philipps concludes, 'The reality is that most moms grow into their power because they became mothers. We need more stories to show how the chaos, care, and urgency of motherhood made them more empathetic, more determined, and more strategic. We need stories that normalize that narrative. Because storytelling is how we build representation, and that is how we change everything.'
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Childcare in the Capitol: As more women run for office, some are bringing their kids
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — When Florida state Rep. Fiona McFarland's infant daughter, Grace Melton, crawled for the first time, the mom of four was right next door, hard at work with her legislative policy staff in the state Capitol. Thanks to the on-site childcare available in the statehouse, McFarland didn't miss that magical first milestone in her 7-month-old's young life. 'The sitter I had with her just grabbed me out of my meeting right next door and I came over and got to witness it,' McFarland recalled. As more women and young people run for public office, they're bringing more than fresh policy ideas to statehouses — some are bringing their kids. Like working parents across the country, some lawmakers are scrambling to find childcare that fits their often unpredictable schedules, at a price they can afford. Rushing back and forth from their districts, they juggle meetings with constituents and coordinate their children's drop-offs, power through late-night floor sessions and step out to pump breast milk between votes, hoping to make it home for their kids' bedtime. 'Looking back, I'm like, 'How did I do that?'" Michigan state Sen. Stephanie Chang said, recalling those frenzied years when she was a new legislator and a new mom. The Democrat used to race across the state with her baby and freezer bags of milk in tow, leaving her daughter with family members so she could make her 9 a.m. committee meetings at the state Capitol in Lansing. In one of the few industrialized countries that lacks universal paid family leave, Chang says America's childcare crunch is keeping some parents from running for public office because they simply 'cannot make it all work," ultimately leaving young families with fewer advocates to help decide "what we're doing for the future of our children.' Advocates push for more support, as more young parents get elected Some state capitols, which were mostly built before women could vote, still lack enough accessible bathrooms, advocates say, let alone spaces to comfortably change a baby's diaper or nurse an infant. "Legislators legislate based on their lived experience," said Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder of the Vote Mama Foundation, which pushes to break barriers that moms face while running for office. 'We have terrible policies that fail women and children across the country because we don't have enough moms serving at any level of government,' she said. As of this year, 33% of state legislators were women, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Fewer than 8% of those lawmakers are moms of minor children, a Vote Mama analysis found. Statehouses' childcare offerings largely lag behind other workplaces, but advocates say they're gaining some ground. The Virginia House of Delegates now gives a childcare stipend to members with young kids to help cover their expenses during session. At least two-thirds of states allow candidates of any gender running for public office to use campaign funds to pay for child care expenses after the Federal Elections Commission approved the practice for federal candidates in 2018. A childcare space just for Florida lawmakers Inside the echoing halls of Florida's Capitol, amid the chattering of lobbyists and the clicking of high heels, the voices of children like Grace can be heard as they play inside two on-site childcare spaces that were created just for the kids of legislators. McFarland, whose four children are ages 5 and under, was elected for the first time in 2020, when she was pregnant with her first child. Since then, her public service has been fueled by 'caffeine and dry shampoo," she joked. On early mornings before the Capitol's in-house day care opens up, McFarland plops Grace into a bouncy chair that sits on her desk in her legislative office, or holds the baby with one hand as she flips through briefing books with the other. 'Moms will always make it work,' said McFarland, a Republican. While the House is in session or committee hearings are in swing, McFarland is able to drop her daughter off at the childcare upstairs. The space isn't open every day and the hours vary, McFarland says, an experience many working parents can empathize with. The staff working in the Capitol's childcare are paid out of campaign funds, spokespeople for the House speaker and Senate president said. The initiative grew out of the Legislature's program for lawmakers' spouses, many of whom travel to Tallahassee for session. After the day care has closed for the afternoon, Grace comes back downstairs to nap and play in a nursery McFarland has set up in the room next door to her office. McFarland also hires sitters to take care of her baby when the childcare space isn't open, a cost she pays for herself. Every working parent has to make tradeoffs, McFarland said, but having childcare in the Capitol means she doesn't have to make quite as many. 'That's what makes Florida stronger, right? Is when we have good representatives and we have good parents — who are able to do both,' McFarland said. Florida's Capitol childcare is an 'informal' approach, but could serve as a model for legislatures across the country, Grechen Shirley said. It's a 'first step' she said, that states should bolster with other supportive policies like allowing proxy voting, paying lawmakers a 'livable wage' and letting candidates use campaign funds to cover childcare expenses. 'If we want a legislature that actually reflects our society, we have to make it easier for young families to run for office and to stay in office," Grechen Shirley said. ___ Associated Press writers Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Virginia and Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan contributed to this report. Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at Kate Payne, The Associated Press
Winnipeg Free Press
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Childcare in the Capitol: As more women run for office, some are bringing their kids
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — When Florida state Rep. Fiona McFarland's infant daughter, Grace Melton, crawled for the first time, the mom of four was right next door, hard at work with her legislative policy staff in the state Capitol. Thanks to the on-site childcare available in the statehouse, McFarland didn't miss that magical first milestone in her 7-month-old's young life. 'The sitter I had with her just grabbed me out of my meeting right next door and I came over and got to witness it,' McFarland recalled. As more women and young people run for public office, they're bringing more than fresh policy ideas to statehouses — some are bringing their kids. Like working parents across the country, some lawmakers are scrambling to find childcare that fits their often unpredictable schedules, at a price they can afford. Rushing back and forth from their districts, they juggle meetings with constituents and coordinate their children's drop-offs, power through late-night floor sessions and step out to pump breast milk between votes, hoping to make it home for their kids' bedtime. 'Looking back, I'm like, 'How did I do that?'' Michigan state Sen. Stephanie Chang said, recalling those frenzied years when she was a new legislator and a new mom. The Democrat used to race across the state with her baby and freezer bags of milk in tow, leaving her daughter with family members so she could make her 9 a.m. committee meetings at the state Capitol in Lansing. In one of the few industrialized countries that lacks universal paid family leave, Chang says America's childcare crunch is keeping some parents from running for public office because they simply 'cannot make it all work,' ultimately leaving young families with fewer advocates to help decide 'what we're doing for the future of our children.' Advocates push for more support, as more young parents get elected Some state capitols, which were mostly built before women could vote, still lack enough accessible bathrooms, advocates say, let alone spaces to comfortably change a baby's diaper or nurse an infant. 'Legislators legislate based on their lived experience,' said Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder of the Vote Mama Foundation, which pushes to break barriers that moms face while running for office. 'We have terrible policies that fail women and children across the country because we don't have enough moms serving at any level of government,' she said. As of this year, 33% of state legislators were women, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Fewer than 8% of those lawmakers are moms of minor children, a Vote Mama analysis found. Statehouses' childcare offerings largely lag behind other workplaces, but advocates say they're gaining some ground. The Virginia House of Delegates now gives a childcare stipend to members with young kids to help cover their expenses during session. At least two-thirds of states allow candidates of any gender running for public office to use campaign funds to pay for child care expenses after the Federal Elections Commission approved the practice for federal candidates in 2018. A childcare space just for Florida lawmakers Inside the echoing halls of Florida's Capitol, amid the chattering of lobbyists and the clicking of high heels, the voices of children like Grace can be heard as they play inside two on-site childcare spaces that were created just for the kids of legislators. McFarland, whose four children are ages 5 and under, was elected for the first time in 2020, when she was pregnant with her first child. Since then, her public service has been fueled by 'caffeine and dry shampoo,' she joked. On early mornings before the Capitol's in-house day care opens up, McFarland plops Grace into a bouncy chair that sits on her desk in her legislative office, or holds the baby with one hand as she flips through briefing books with the other. 'Moms will always make it work,' said McFarland, a Republican. While the House is in session or committee hearings are in swing, McFarland is able to drop her daughter off at the childcare upstairs. The space isn't open every day and the hours vary, McFarland says, an experience many working parents can empathize with. The staff working in the Capitol's childcare are paid out of campaign funds, spokespeople for the House speaker and Senate president said. The initiative grew out of the Legislature's program for lawmakers' spouses, many of whom travel to Tallahassee for session. After the day care has closed for the afternoon, Grace comes back downstairs to nap and play in a nursery McFarland has set up in the room next door to her office. McFarland also hires sitters to take care of her baby when the childcare space isn't open, a cost she pays for herself. Every working parent has to make tradeoffs, McFarland said, but having childcare in the Capitol means she doesn't have to make quite as many. 'That's what makes Florida stronger, right? Is when we have good representatives and we have good parents — who are able to do both,' McFarland said. Florida's Capitol childcare is an 'informal' approach, but could serve as a model for legislatures across the country, Grechen Shirley said. During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. It's a 'first step' she said, that states should bolster with other supportive policies like allowing proxy voting, paying lawmakers a 'livable wage' and letting candidates use campaign funds to cover childcare expenses. 'If we want a legislature that actually reflects our society, we have to make it easier for young families to run for office and to stay in office,' Grechen Shirley said. ___ Associated Press writers Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Virginia and Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan contributed to this report. Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Childcare in the Capitol: As more women run for office, some are bringing their kids
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — When Florida state Rep. Fiona McFarland's infant daughter, Grace Melton, crawled for the first time, the mom of four was right next door, hard at work with her legislative policy staff in the state Capitol. Thanks to the on-site childcare available in the statehouse, McFarland didn't miss that magical first milestone in her 7-month-old's young life. 'The sitter I had with her just grabbed me out of my meeting right next door and I came over and got to witness it,' McFarland recalled. As more women and young people run for public office, they're bringing more than fresh policy ideas to statehouses — some are bringing their kids. Like working parents across the country, some lawmakers are scrambling to find childcare that fits their often unpredictable schedules, at a price they can afford. Rushing back and forth from their districts, they juggle meetings with constituents and coordinate their children's drop-offs, power through late-night floor sessions and step out to pump breast milk between votes, hoping to make it home for their kids' bedtime. 'Looking back, I'm like, 'How did I do that?'" Michigan state Sen. Stephanie Chang said, recalling those frenzied years when she was a new legislator and a new mom. The Democrat used to race across the state with her baby and freezer bags of milk in tow, leaving her daughter with family members so she could make her 9 a.m. committee meetings at the state Capitol in Lansing. In one of the few industrialized countries that lacks universal paid family leave, Chang says America's childcare crunch is keeping some parents from running for public office because they simply 'cannot make it all work," ultimately leaving young families with fewer advocates to help decide "what we're doing for the future of our children.' Advocates push for more support, as more young parents get elected Some state capitols, which were mostly built before women could vote, still lack enough accessible bathrooms, advocates say, let alone spaces to comfortably change a baby's diaper or nurse an infant. "Legislators legislate based on their lived experience," said Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder of the Vote Mama Foundation, which pushes to break barriers that moms face while running for office. 'We have terrible policies that fail women and children across the country because we don't have enough moms serving at any level of government,' she said. As of this year, 33% of state legislators were women, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Fewer than 8% of those lawmakers are moms of minor children, a Vote Mama analysis found. Statehouses' childcare offerings largely lag behind other workplaces, but advocates say they're gaining some ground. The Virginia House of Delegates now gives a childcare stipend to members with young kids to help cover their expenses during session. At least two-thirds of states allow candidates of any gender running for public office to use campaign funds to pay for child care expenses after the Federal Elections Commission approved the practice for federal candidates in 2018. A childcare space just for Florida lawmakers Inside the echoing halls of Florida's Capitol, amid the chattering of lobbyists and the clicking of high heels, the voices of children like Grace can be heard as they play inside two on-site childcare spaces that were created just for the kids of legislators. McFarland, whose four children are ages 5 and under, was elected for the first time in 2020, when she was pregnant with her first child. Since then, her public service has been fueled by 'caffeine and dry shampoo," she joked. On early mornings before the Capitol's in-house day care opens up, McFarland plops Grace into a bouncy chair that sits on her desk in her legislative office, or holds the baby with one hand as she flips through briefing books with the other. 'Moms will always make it work,' said McFarland, a Republican. While the House is in session or committee hearings are in swing, McFarland is able to drop her daughter off at the childcare upstairs. The space isn't open every day and the hours vary, McFarland says, an experience many working parents can empathize with. The staff working in the Capitol's childcare are paid out of campaign funds, spokespeople for the House speaker and Senate president said. The initiative grew out of the Legislature's program for lawmakers' spouses, many of whom travel to Tallahassee for session. After the day care has closed for the afternoon, Grace comes back downstairs to nap and play in a nursery McFarland has set up in the room next door to her office. McFarland also hires sitters to take care of her baby when the childcare space isn't open, a cost she pays for herself. Every working parent has to make tradeoffs, McFarland said, but having childcare in the Capitol means she doesn't have to make quite as many. 'That's what makes Florida stronger, right? Is when we have good representatives and we have good parents — who are able to do both,' McFarland said. Florida's Capitol childcare is an 'informal' approach, but could serve as a model for legislatures across the country, Grechen Shirley said. It's a 'first step' she said, that states should bolster with other supportive policies like allowing proxy voting, paying lawmakers a 'livable wage' and letting candidates use campaign funds to cover childcare expenses. 'If we want a legislature that actually reflects our society, we have to make it easier for young families to run for office and to stay in office," Grechen Shirley said. ___ Associated Press writers Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Virginia and Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan contributed to this report. Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
The Independent
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Childcare in the Capitol: As more women run for office, some are bringing their kids
When Florida state Rep. Fiona McFarland's infant daughter, Grace Melton, crawled for the first time, the mom of four was right next door, hard at work with her legislative policy staff in the state Capitol. Thanks to the on-site childcare available in the statehouse, McFarland didn't miss that magical first milestone in her 7-month-old's young life. 'The sitter I had with her just grabbed me out of my meeting right next door and I came over and got to witness it,' McFarland recalled. As more women and young people run for public office, they're bringing more than fresh policy ideas to statehouses — some are bringing their kids. Like working parents across the country, some lawmakers are scrambling to find childcare that fits their often unpredictable schedules, at a price they can afford. Rushing back and forth from their districts, they juggle meetings with constituents and coordinate their children's drop-offs, power through late-night floor sessions and step out to pump breast milk between votes, hoping to make it home for their kids' bedtime. 'Looking back, I'm like, 'How did I do that?'" Michigan state Sen. Stephanie Chang said, recalling those frenzied years when she was a new legislator and a new mom. The Democrat used to race across the state with her baby and freezer bags of milk in tow, leaving her daughter with family members so she could make her 9 a.m. committee meetings at the state Capitol in Lansing. In one of the few industrialized countries that lacks universal paid family leave, Chang says America 's childcare crunch is keeping some parents from running for public office because they simply 'cannot make it all work," ultimately leaving young families with fewer advocates to help decide "what we're doing for the future of our children.' Advocates push for more support, as more young parents get elected Some state capitols, which were mostly built before women could vote, still lack enough accessible bathrooms, advocates say, let alone spaces to comfortably change a baby's diaper or nurse an infant. "Legislators legislate based on their lived experience," said Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder of the Vote Mama Foundation, which pushes to break barriers that moms face while running for office. 'We have terrible policies that fail women and children across the country because we don't have enough moms serving at any level of government,' she said. As of this year, 33% of state legislators were women, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Fewer than 8% of those lawmakers are moms of minor children, a Vote Mama analysis found. Statehouses' childcare offerings largely lag behind other workplaces, but advocates say they're gaining some ground. The Virginia House of Delegates now gives a childcare stipend to members with young kids to help cover their expenses during session. At least two-thirds of states allow candidates of any gender running for public office to use campaign funds to pay for child care expenses after the Federal Elections Commission approved the practice for federal candidates in 2018. A childcare space just for Florida lawmakers Inside the echoing halls of Florida's Capitol, amid the chattering of lobbyists and the clicking of high heels, the voices of children like Grace can be heard as they play inside two on-site childcare spaces that were created just for the kids of legislators. McFarland, whose four children are ages 5 and under, was elected for the first time in 2020, when she was pregnant with her first child. Since then, her public service has been fueled by 'caffeine and dry shampoo," she joked. On early mornings before the Capitol's in-house day care opens up, McFarland plops Grace into a bouncy chair that sits on her desk in her legislative office, or holds the baby with one hand as she flips through briefing books with the other. 'Moms will always make it work,' said McFarland, a Republican. While the House is in session or committee hearings are in swing, McFarland is able to drop her daughter off at the childcare upstairs. The space isn't open every day and the hours vary, McFarland says, an experience many working parents can empathize with. The staff working in the Capitol's childcare are paid out of campaign funds, spokespeople for the House speaker and Senate president said. The initiative grew out of the Legislature's program for lawmakers' spouses, many of whom travel to Tallahassee for session. After the day care has closed for the afternoon, Grace comes back downstairs to nap and play in a nursery McFarland has set up in the room next door to her office. McFarland also hires sitters to take care of her baby when the childcare space isn't open, a cost she pays for herself. Every working parent has to make tradeoffs, McFarland said, but having childcare in the Capitol means she doesn't have to make quite as many. 'That's what makes Florida stronger, right? Is when we have good representatives and we have good parents — who are able to do both,' McFarland said. Florida's Capitol childcare is an 'informal' approach, but could serve as a model for legislatures across the country, Grechen Shirley said. It's a 'first step' she said, that states should bolster with other supportive policies like allowing proxy voting, paying lawmakers a 'livable wage' and letting candidates use campaign funds to cover childcare expenses. 'If we want a legislature that actually reflects our society, we have to make it easier for young families to run for office and to stay in office," Grechen Shirley said. ___ Associated Press writers Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Virginia and Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan contributed to this report. Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
