CNN Touts Moms Refuge

As part of a recent CNN.COM program, Moms Refuge received an important mention as a "great Web site" for those women trying to balance work and family life.

Aired on May 20, Mary Kathleen Flynn, CNN correspondent, said:

"Those of us who need to balance work and family life -- and I'd say that's just about everybody -- there's a great Web site out there called Momsrefuge.com. It's especially aimed at working mothers. One of the things that's great about it is that it provides a forum for women to share all different kinds of strategies about juggling. There are a lot of women writing in with questions, and a lot of other women coming up with answers.

"Now, I must warn you that sometimes the advice on this Web site's a little bit simplistic. In the Art of Juggling section, for example, often the advice boils down to, 'Make your husband
do it.' "

For a transcript of the program, visit the CNN archives.

Women's Health Week

A coalition of consumer and professional health organizations, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office on Women's Health (OWH), have declared the week of Mother's Day "National Women's Health Week."

The coalition believes this annual event will help focus the nation's attention on the health and well-being of women across the country and serve as a reminder for efforts year-round. This year's recognition week will begin on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 14 and end on Saturday, May 20.

More information about the campaign and National Women's Health Week is available from the Office on Women's Health Web site.

Study Ranks State of the World's Mothers

Save the Children, a leading child development and relief organization, released its State of the World's Mothers 2000 report, ranking for the first time the status of mothers and children in 106 countries.

Twenty industrialized nations and 86 in the developing world were compared on the status of their mother's health, access to medical care, maternal mortality rates, contraceptive use, literacy and participation in national government.

Of the factors studied, the report identifies female education and use of voluntary family planning as most closely associated with improved status of mothers and children. The study also found that, though mothers and children tend to fare better in wealthier countries, national wealth alone does not guarantee their health and well-being.

A full copy of state of the world's mothers can be found at the Save the Children Web site.

Little Changed in Way Women Depicted in Ads

In a new 35-minute video, activist Jean Kilbourne documents how women are portrayed in the advertising world that has become such a pervasive part of our culture.

The video, "Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising's Image of Women," Kilbourne illustrates how little has changed in the way women are depicted in advertising over the last 40 years. By the end of the video, viewers are left wondering whether the ad industry has had its collective head in a bubble for the past three decades, untouched by the waves of consciousness about women and society.

"What does advertising tell us today about women? It tells us, just as it did 10, and 20, and 30 years ago, that what's most important about women is how we look," says Kilbourne as the screen fills with advertising images that prove the point.

Besides sending women and girls the message that their bodies aren't good enough and generating billions of dollars for the cosmetic, fashion, diet, and plastic surgery industries, advertising images also contribute to a culture of violence against women, according to Kilbourne. Often women are portrayed as vulnerable or "asking for it" even if they are saying no. These kinds of messages are not only demeaning and dangerous to women, Kilbourne argues, but also portray men in ways that equate masculinity with violence.

The video is being sold to colleges, universities, high schools and libraries by the Media Education Foundation, a non-profit, educational organization.

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