Handbook for Modern Moms (and Dads) - Womenpedia and Heroine Magazine

The Women's Work lecture series returns with a second debate, which we have prepared in collaboration with Heroine magazine for the book Manual for Modern Mothers. Raising children presents us with many challenges and uncertainties. We consider whether we will actually become parents and how our lives with children will change. We balance in daily little battles with ourselves and who we really want to be as parents. How do we raise our daughters and sons to not carry the traumas of childhood and learn to face the pressures of today's world. At the same time, we often find ourselves searching for our own space in the midst of family and day-to-day responsibilities.

The book by the German educator and family counsellor Susanne Mierau offers us at least partial support in this endeavour.  It opens up the questions of what it is like to be a parent in the Czech Republic and why are mothers still worse off? Ninety-eight per cent of parental allowance is paid by the mother. Although seventy percent of men would stay at home with their child for at least part of their parental leave, the pay gap makes parenthood a "problem" mainly for women. They are the ones who, in the vast majority of cases, have their working careers interrupted or slowed down in real terms, which translates into a pay gap and pensions. The unfair distribution of care is in fact not an individual family's free choice, but the result of the set-up of the whole system.

The debate with invited guests Lenka Simerská, sociologist, Kateřina Sam, ecologist, and Anna Hořejší, creative director of České Budějovice 2028, brings not only a talk about the current legal setting of maternity and parental leave, but also different stories of women who are looking for a balance between their work and the role of a mother. Ilona Kleníková, editor of Heroine magazine, will ask the guests what women face in science, culture and other fields and what we still need to straighten out as a society. She will also present The Manual for Modern Moms, a book on how to raise daughters who will live in an equal world. 

The debate also includes an Open Mic, where you can share your experience as a parent or a person thinking about motherhood in 3-5 minutes. We would love to hear your stories. 

The debate will take place on 15 May 2024 at 5 pm at Riegrova 51 in České Budějovice. The debate, including the subsequent discussion and Open Mic, will last until 19:30.

It is possible to participate with children for whom babysitting will be provided.

České Budějovice 2028

České Budějovice has been awarded the title of European Capital of Culture (ECoC) 2028. For the city, winning the title is an opportunity to improve the quality of life of local residents through culture. One of the projects that has been created as part of the ECC is Womenpedia, which brings a female perspective to the cultural atmosphere of the region.