discrimination against parents

Today on All Things Considered, NPR featured a moving piece about the two sides of Hurricane Katrina evacuees relocating in Houston. Some of the 90,000 people who have resettled in Houston are doing well; two years later, others have still not found security. Mothers in particular seem to be suffering.

Lorenthia Richardson is a former nursing students and store manager who is sharing an apartment with three female relatives and their 14 children. NPR reporter Wade Goodwyn's summary of Richardson's situation caught my eye:

"Richardson knows how to dress and act for the professional world. That's not her problem. Her problem is that she is a black, single mother from New Orleans. For two full years, Richardson has been unable to land a job, despite more than 50 separate attempts."

Think you're getting shut out of prime work assignments because you have to do school pick-up?

Have a feeling the "boys" are getting more parenting-credit at the office for going to a soccer game than you are for pediatrician's appointments?

If so, you may be able to hold your bosses legally accountable.

There's been increased attention in recent months to the so-called "opt-out" phenomenon -- professional working women supposedly abandoning the workforce in droves for full-time mommydom.