But I thought you'd be happy with Meghan's latest move @ShamedBySiri, given that you were saying just recently that she needs to do more for pregnant women in her home country?
You'd think wouldn't you? Unfortunately Meghan chose to write a laughably childish letter to the representatives, which somehow managed to be all about her. Growing up on $4.99 salad bar treats, and waiting tables and babysitting to “cover odds and ends” have what exactly to do with maternity leave?
If I had been writing such a letter, I’d have been wanting to let the representatives know they were dealing with someone who deserved to be included in the list of the world’s 100 top influencers. I’d have wanted them to know they were dealing with someone who had facts and figures at her fingertips and who understood the issue and I’d have tried to make sure I was giving them some information they might not already have.
I’d have researched early maternal/child attachment and the benefits of breastfeeding and included links to respected studies. I might mention the concerning maternal mortality rate in the USA and the fact that many women suffer obstetric trauma and need extended recovery time (here’s a thread from the Masic foundation, http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/guest_posts/4302468-Guest-post-Women-are-expected-to-go-home-with-life-changing-injuries-after-giving-birth-and-just-get-on-with-itt_ - no doubt similar information is available in the USA).
I would possibly point out that women in certain federal jobs in the USA get 12 weeks paid parental leave, paid by the state aka the taxpayer. And yet the same state won’t offer the same benefit to other women who are taxpayers. Hell, I might even seek out some of those women and ask them to give an account of how much they benefited from the policy and what it meant to them. I’d throw in some figures about the expense of obstetric care and childcare and the need to support families and the benefits of doing so.
I would probably reference the maternity benefits that other countries around the world offer for the sake of comparison. I might be able to dig into government or EU statements about the benefits they provide and find some relevant quotes that could be applied to the USA.
If I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by struggling with a new baby I might ask one of my paid employees such as my PR people to do a bit of research on my behalf. And since I was planning to publish the letter I might ask their advice and opinion, just as I asked for the opinion of Jason Knauf on the personal letter I was sending to my father to make sure I was sending a really powerful letter.
I don’t know, maybe that’s just me. After all, I’m not one of the world’s top 100 influencers so when I write to my MP or to government ministers I have to make it an impactful letter whereas an influencer of importance just has to snap her fingers and say “do it”. Oh wait…they didn’t did they. The bill has been pulled at the last minute. So now she has to resort to obtaining private numbers to cold call representatives from her number withheld phone.
If she wanted a new career writing Mills and Boon/Barbara Cartland style books with Duchess of Sussex all over the cover I’m sure she could have a very successful career, I can picture those books in my mind. But she needs to put in some effort to write a better letter if she wants to be taken seriously as a woman of influence.