When I stood on the stage at the Midway Area Chamber of Commerce annual gala held at Allianz Field and accepted their 2025 Volunteer of the Year Award, I thought of my path here, as a woman, as a mom, and as an entrepreneur.

My resume had a pretty lean decade as I stayed at home raising two kids in my 30s. I freelanced, of course, for the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger and Midway Como Frogtown Monitor because I could fit in interviews during nap times and I scribbled articles after bedtime. I taught some, as well, roping in grandparents and friends to babysit during in-person journalism classes at Anoka-Ramsey Community College and Planet Homeschool. I set the kids up with activities during online classes.

When the opportunity to purchase the Messenger and Monitor came up, I jumped at it – although it seemed like a pretty big leap from part-time freelancer and full-time mom to full-time entrepreneur.

But it wasn’t.

I learned all I needed to about time management in the years that I juggled nap times and bedtimes, playdates and meals for two kids. Daily life required continual multi-tasking, balancing the needs of both kids, myself, and our household.

I honed my organizational skills in figuring out the best ways to store toys so they didn’t take over the house. I learned about planning ahead and managing schedules for multiple people.

I learned about how to be in charge, while still treating others respectfully and asking their opinions, knowing that I was building a relationship with my children and not just trying to get them to do what I wanted them to.

In return, my kids taught me that they were motivated differently, had different skills than each other, and wanted different things out of their days. There is nothing as challenging (or rewarding) as being the “manager” of a toddler – except perhaps that of “managing” a pre-teen.

This daily life requires crisis management – who lost a shoe, who can’t find their teddy bear, where is their favorite shirt, why did a friend do that to them? I learned how to keep my own frustrations in check in order to hear theirs, repeat it back, offer a safe space for them to let it out, and then send them back into the world. I learned how to find creative solutions tailored to each person and situation. And to take a nap if I needed it after all that emotional labor.

Parenting involves honing those communication skills that are so essential to building strong relationships and navigating challenging situations. I took a class on Enneagram personality types at Spirit Garage, taking time out on a Saturday to learn more about myself and how I operate.
It helped me better learn how to supervise, monitor behavior, provide guidance and set boundaries.

Teaching became a part of every interaction as I understood that my children are always watching me, picking up on the verbal and nonverbal things I say and do. Guiding them through their various developmental phases meant that I needed to research first where they were and then give them the tools to figure out what they needed at that point in their lives. I taught them to read, write, count, and name colors and emotions. We read all the time, collecting batches of books from the library and turning on audio stories in the car.

Budgeting and finances were a regular part of life. I tracked expenses and made adjustments as needed. I paid attention to income and sought out more work when I needed to. I checked out Buy Nothing groups, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and thrift stores, stretching resources like my mom modeled for me.

UNPAID LABOR

As more and more people start talking about the “unpaid labor” women do – including Caroline Criado-Perez in her must-read book, “Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men” – I reflect on the women I know who are juggling so many different things. Their resumes might look empty during the years they opted to stay home with children or take care of aging family members. I hope that this doesn’t affect their ability to make a living, but I know it does. Those pay gaps add up. In Germany, a woman who has given birth to one child can expect to earn up to $285,000 less by the time she’s 45 than a woman who has worked full-time without interruptions. Data from France, Germany, Sweden, and Turkey show that women earn between 31 to 75% less than men over their lifetimes. (Read more about this in Criado-Perez’s book).

On average, Minnesota women who work full-time all year make $0.81 for every dollar that men make, with important differences when it comes to race and ethnicity, according to a 2024 study by the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota and the Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Latina women, for instance, make $0.57 for every dollar and Black women make $0.62 for every dollar. Over a lifetime, women in Minnesota lose an estimated $483,040 in lifetime earnings due to the gender wage gap. Black, Indigenous, and women of color experience even greater losses, losing more than $1 million in a lifetime due to the wage gap.

“The wage gap is one of the areas where our inter-sectional, disaggregated approach uncovers important distinctions, particularly for Minnesota’s immigrant communities,” said Christina Ewig, Director of the Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy. “The wage gap is 1.7 times as large and 1.4 times for other African immigrant and women than it is for White women in Minnesota.

“For women to achieve economic security, we need to raise pay in occupations dominated by women, ensure all workers have access to a living wage, expand educational opportunities and access to high-paying trades, address the affordable housing crisis, and value unpaid carework through benefits like sick leave and subsidized child care.”
Minnesota is launching Paid Leave benefits on Jan. 1, 2026. It will provide paid time off when a serious health condition prevents someone from working, when they need time to care for a family member or a new child, for certain military-related events or for certain personal safety issues. This includes:

• Family Leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition, or if you’re bonding with a new baby or child in your family.
• Medical Leave when your own serious health condition prevents you from working.

Right now, women and men are only qualified to take 12 weeks per the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) –and it is unpaid. With the exception of the U.S., all industrialized countries guarantee workers paid maternity leave. Numerous worldwide studies have shown that maternity leave has a positive impact on women’s participation in the paid labor market, writes Criado-Perez, and it leads to an increase in the raw numbers of women employed, the hours they work and the income they earn. This directly affects how many women find themselves in poverty as they age. It also affects the ability of companies to find employees, which is especially pertinent as the Boomers age, fewer babies are being born, and the number of available workers in Minnesota falls. If you’re wondering why you’re having trouble filling a position, this may be it.

As the number of flexible work positions decrease in Minnesota as more employers rescind their remote work policies, we will see these have a bigger affect on women. The vast majority of American homemakers (97% of whom are women) in a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation/CBS/New York Times indicated that they would go back to work if they could work from home (76%) or if the job offered flexible hours (74%).

At the same time, we’re seeing more women strike out on their own and start a businesses, as I did. The number of businesses owned by women increased nationally by 27 percent and in Minnesota by 18 percent between 2007 and 2021, according to a Minnesota Legislative report.
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In 2018, women-owned businesses accounted for 35% of all Minnesota firms, with another 5% being part-owned by a female owner, per the 2022 Minnesota Chamber Entrepreneurship report.

As mothers, as caretakers, and as women, we’ve developed resiliency, empathy, patience, and flexibility. I’m proud to be part of the group of women entrepreneurs in the Minnesota.