Mothers At Home Matter Conference 2023
The 2023 MAHM hybrid annual conference was highly successful with nearly 170 tickets sold, both to attend in-person and online – the most so far for any MAHM conference. Sally Greenhill reports back on the day.
What do we do all day?
On International Women’s Day 2023, Roxana Tigelaar — our new editor of our biannual, printed newsletter — lists things that a stay-at-home-mum does during all that ‘free’ time she has when not ‘barefoot in the kitchen’! She shares this long list with us here.
Just A Mother
International Women’s Day is supposed to celebrate the movement for women’s rights yet Roisin Harkin, felt somewhat flat on March 8th this year. First published in our bi-annual, printed newsletter, here she explores what being a ‘stay-at-home mum’ can feel like in a society in which we’ve been promised that we ‘can have it all’.
La Leche League
MAHM Member and breastfeeding support volunteer, Harriet Rudd, writes about the benefits of La Leche League and the support and information they offer to mothers.
Back to School
Judith Suckling left her career in television production when she had her first child. Now her two children are back at school, she writes about what she now does to fill her time in-between school runs.
Treasury Select Committee
MAHM’s contribution to the Treasury Select Committee’s ‘Tax after Coronavirus’ inquiry presented evidence to address the question: ‘Which areas of the tax system are most in need of reform?’
We focused specifically on income tax emphasising the pressing need for a fairer family taxation system. Our system of independent taxation is not fit for purpose for taxing families; it causes unfairness, injustice and even harm.
Early Years Commission
We were invited to submit our research evidence to the independent, cross-party Early Years Commission to build a consensus on the future of early years policy.
They stated that they would ‘draw on evidence’ but their focus was ‘on establishing consensus’ on existing proposed solutions. Our submission challenged current orthodoxy by stating that the optimum carer for a young child is its mother.
Taxation of Families
A report from Tax and the Family and CARE shows yet again that households with children continue to bear a heavier share of the income tax burden than they do in other countries and many face much higher marginal rates. Families with incomes below the poverty line can be paying large amounts of income tax.
Why I Stayed Home
Mother and solicitor, Claire Kenney, explains her decision to stay at home for her children.
Volunteer Life
Imogen Thompson writes about the ups and downs of her time as a MAHM volunteer media spokesperson.