EDITORIAL: Mothers deserve seat at table

May 8—This Sunday we will celebrate the women in our lives who made it possible for us to have a life in the first place: our mothers!

Those celebrations will differ depending on generational divides, but Mother's Day 2021 likely will be much different than the second Sunday in May a year ago. Most everyone then was still trying to get a handle on the novel coronavirus and the impact it would have on our lives.

Some longed for mothers in long-term nursing facilities that were forced to ban outside visitors as a measure to protect their fragile residents. Others longed for hugs from mothers who practiced pandemic protocols and remained socially distanced from their children for safety's sake.

And younger mothers learned even more about multi-tasking than they already knew as they transitioned to remote workspaces at home, which became virtual classrooms and playgrounds. While the demands of motherhood mounted at home, mothers also appear to have been overrepresented among "essential workers" at risk in the workplace.

There appears to be mounting evidence that economic disruptions caused by the pandemic during the past 15 months may have long-term consequences for gender equality in the workplace. A lackluster jobs report on Friday indicates there may be plenty of pandemic-related obstacles preventing mothers from returning to the workplace — too many mothers live now only in their children's memories.

With all that has happened during the past year, we should take time this Mother's Day to consider what it will require to achieve what mothers desired when they first sought national recognition more than a century ago. Those women wanted equal representation and a seat at the table.

If we are to honor our mothers — the women who gave us life, nurtured us, and cared for us — the demands made so long ago must be heard today.