It’s the year 2020 and women (and mom entrepreneurs) are still left holding the bag when it comes to childcare, household management and elder care. Sure, we’ve come a long way, baby. We’ve left Leave it to Beaver and meatloaf behind. Tossed out our shoulder pads and pantsuits. You can see men cooking in commercials. Paternity leave is actually a thing. But overall society is still failing us.

The Myth of Scarcity + Misogyny = Hostility Towards Mom Entrepreneurs

A patriarchal, colonial, capitalist society has created a world of scarcity. Very few can have it all. But it’s a false reality—where opportunities are severely limited. Money is not actually the only way to access power, but it’s a great shortcut. And you need it to survive. In this world, everything must be sacrificed in the name of productivity and profit.

A patriarchal, colonial, capitalist society will not accept anything that interferes with the profit machine. It cannot tolerate unpredictability or emergencies. There is no room for care, nurturing, joy, rest, or leisure. There is no room for the slow and steady work of motherhood. As Andrea Landry of Indigenous Motherhood says in a powerfully poignant post about colonization’s destructive effects on traditional child-centred parenting:

“Capitalism and it’s systems are now leading how we live with, and relate to, the children in our lives. And it’s wreaking havoc on the very foundation of how we parent, how we discipline, and how we speak to, our children.”

A patriarchal, capitalist society demands results now and fuck everything in its way.

This world is inherently unstable and unsafe. Especially for women and especially for mothers. As birthing people and caregivers, our independence and self-actualization is seen as a threat. We threaten the creation of a workforce that is necessary for capitalism to thrive. And, as cogs in a machine, our labour is a commodity that can be bought at ever cheaper prices. The very privileged few hoard wealth and resources for themselves. While we struggle to survive on ever smaller pieces of the pie.

But women entrepreneurs make their own rules. We decide our own value. And overall, we’re doing ok. But the patriarchs and the capitalists see us coming for their pie. And they’ll do everything they can to strip us of any power and independence we’ve built for ourselves.

This is why feminist entrepreneurship is our best chance at getting things right as mom entrepreneurs. We’ll only see true progress if we “lean in” to demanding better for ourselves, our families and our communities.