09.03.20
International Women's Day - After Geneva and other venues, the exhibition came to the ETH Zurich, Switzerland's most prestigious engineering university.
Portrait of a (working) mother is a photo exhibition resulting from an interdisciplinary photographic-research project on motherhood, career, and international mobility. In the original exhibition supported by MMM, which was notably shown at the United Nations in Geneva in June 2018 , the work of Marina Cavazza, a photographer, and Eglė Kačkutė, a scholar now Associate Professor at Vilnius University and Assistant Lecturer at Maynooth University, portrayed 27 expatriate mothers living and working in International Geneva.
The Zurich exhibition builds upon the original project with an additional 10 portraits of mothers working at the ETH. Their particular situation was discussed at the opening event on 4th March. Like in other workplaces, being a (working) mother, i.e. combining care responsibilities with career aspirations and obligations, is a challenge; but it is here compounded by the fact of being a foreigner, having high responsibilities and being part of a prestigious academic institution.
The entire portfolio can be seen on Marina Cavazza’s website.
“In the original project which had over 25 photos and interviews, we very much focused on the obstacles that women face in managing to enjoy their careers as well as family lives – as professional migrants and parents – on the sacrifices that people have to make through the mix of gender, migration, motherhood and career advancement. And because we worked very much with the backdrop of the discourse of ‘having it all’, it was obvious that nobody was having it all.
In the ten new interviews and portraits that were done here at the ETH, a different story emerged. The same lens of gender, motherhood, migration and career advancement was used to produce a different effect.”
“This time around, the story shone a light on what enables women to have the lives in which both family and career are possible, namely, cooperative partners, childcare structures and support networks of family and friends. This acknowledgment is performative in that it highlights the fact that nobody can do it on their own. That unless the supportive structures are in place, people are not going to succeed in maintaining their career/professional lives alongside their family lives.”
Ian Bichelmeier is a 26-year-old architect who lives and works in Zurich. He covered the panel discussion and took some event photographs for MMM.
His wrap comment: “Mothers – and fathers – should not have to make choices: workplaces should be adapted and organized to allow parents to assume their care responsibilities. Flexibility is important, but in addition, employers should have rules such as conducting meetings only at times that would allow parents to do school/creche pick-ups and drop-offs.“
11.10.23
UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - Entitled ‘Centrality of care and support from a human rights perspective’, this landmark resolution was presented by the governments of Argentina, Iceland, Mexico
20.06.23
It was by all accounts, a remarkable gathering of global peacemakers. They came from all over the world to lend their voice and support to the message of the Conference:
09.10.23
In June this year, the European Union (EU) Commission announced a new high-priority initiative to address the mental health of all Europeans.
20.04.24
In a timely joint statement, we at Make mothers Matter, along with 16 European NGOs, have urged EU policymakers to prioritise long-term care in the upcoming 2024-2029 legislature. This call comes as the Belgian
26.03.24
UN Geneva - As the 55th session of the Human Rights council wraps up, here is an overview of our contributions to the discussions that took place on a wide range of topics. Our aim with all our interventions wa
24.03.24
UN New York, CSW68 - These wise words, uttered by of one of the speakers at our event, Let's change the narrative: invest in mothers, sums up the challenges faced by mothers. Organised online on the margins of
11.03.24
UN New York, CSW68 - Join us for a discussion on changing the narrative in support of mothers - an online parallel event to the 68th UN Commission on the Status of Women
01.03.24
MMM as founding member, is pleased to announce the launch of Be Family®, a bold and new movement that aims to ensure companies and organisations act inclusively and responsibly towards families and people with
01.03.24
UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - - Co-organised with a group of Child Rights organisations, we invite you to join us for this hybrid event which will take place around the HRC's annual day of the rights of the