The Best of Congress 2012

Just in time for the momentous elections of 2012, Corporate Voices for Working Families and Working Mother Media will once again honor the Best of Congress.  Members of Congress will be asked to submit detailed applications to be considered for this biennial Award, and will be evaluated on their efforts to advance economically sound policies that support and create opportunities for working families, with particular attention to efforts that support the following critical issues: Workplace Flexibility, Family Economic Stability, Work and Family Balanceand Workforce Readiness.In addition, lawmakers will be asked to submit policies and practices within their own offices that support working families and flexible workplace options.

An in-depth review of all applications will be conducted by our prestigious bipartisan Steering Committee:

·         Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief of The Huffington Post Media Group; (co-chair)

·         Hon. Jane Swift, Chief Executive Officer of Middlebury Interactive Languages and former
 Governor of Massachusetts; (co-chair)

·         Hon. Patricia Schroeder, Former President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers and former Congresswoman from Colorado

·         Ted Childs, Founder and Principal of Ted Childs, LLC;

·         Patricia Kempthorne, President and CEO of the Twiga Foundation; and

For the last two decades, American corporations have made significant investments in support of working families.  However, businesses know that despite their investment, they cannot address the challenges working families face alone.  Policymakers are needed to assist companies in developing, sharing and achieving solutions.  Political leaders are increasingly stepping up and developing policies and funding programs, at the national and state level, that increase the quality of working families’ lives.

Since 2008, Corporate Voices for Working Families and Working Mother Media have been delighted to honor 38 members of Congress with the Best of Congress Award. Lawmakers are honored for their advocacy of legislation, commitment to partnerships with business and other stakeholders to create long-term solutions to work-life issuesand demonstration of their own commitment to establishing family-friendly practices for staff members.

What is most encouraging is that the level of interest and participation has increased with each year.  In fact, 14 Members of Congress attended the 2010 awards breakfast, and as each member accepted their award, it quickly became apparent that each had powerful personal stories of how they, their families and those close to them have struggled to meet work/life challenges—creating a clear driver behind their strong commitment to advance the work/life agenda in Congress.

Below is a snapshot of two of those personal stories

Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO): Democratic Representative from Missouri, Carnahan knows what it means to have a family-friendly workplace. Before he was in public office, Carnahan was a partner in a law practice with his wife, and they balanced work and family life by creating a nursery for their newborn in their law office. At the awards breakfast, Carnahan said,

“Having work policies that support a healthy work-life balance is not only a smart business practice—it’s really
personal.”

Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA): Republican Representative from the state of Washington, Reichert is a former police officer and grew up with six brothers and sisters. He is the founder and co-chair of the Children’s Health Care Caucus. He believes that policies that support healthy and strong families have an important impact on communities.

“Each and every day across our country, working parents make remarkable contributions to our economy and our communities – all while balancing responsibilities at work and at home. I’ll continue doing all I can to make sure that they have the resources and support necessary to achieve their personal and professional goals,” Reichert said.

Awardees will be profiled in the August/September 2012 issue of Working Mother Magazine, which reaches nearly three million politically engaged working mothers, and on WorkingMother.com.  They will also be honored at a breakfast in late summer of 2012 in Washington, DC.

To learn more about the Best of Congress Award or available sponsorship opportunities, visit www.corporatevoices.org/best-of-congress or contact Tiffany Westover-Kernan at 202-467-8133.

Nathan Constable is Communications & Government Relations Coordinatorat Corporate Voices for Working Families.