Closing the Gender Pay Gap
In the absence of viable childcare options, mothers especially are often forced to modify their work schedules, settle for lower-quality care, or leave the workforce altogether—a decision that can jeopardize their family’s financial security. America must adopt a radical, three-pronged approach at the individual, federal, and corporate levels to solve the mental health and maternal health crises. It means shaking the foundation our society has always known.
Closing the Gender Pay Gap at the Individual Level
A maternal health advocate, Christine Michel Carter gets revenge as a protector and fighter for ignored women all over the world. She works to advance policies on a range of issues that affect families and women in financial, mental, and emotional health spaces.
Christine is dedicated to advancing and empowering women by fostering their professional development and growth opportunities. She serves on SeekHer Foundation’s Advocacy Council to support the PepsiCo Pure Leaf “No” Grants program, which has awarded female grant winners $200,000 to close their earning wage gaps. She also provides 1:1 online career coaching via MH WorkLife, Wizco, or Women in Negotiation (WIN) and marketing strategy development for small businesses.
Understanding how stressful, time-consuming, and difficult it can be to find quality childcare, Christine created Mompreneur and Me events in 2015, so both parents could spend time with their children and network with other like-minded professionals at the same time. Christine is also an angel investor for Lilu, Myavana, and Cradlewise, three tech companies founded by women of color.
Closing the Gender Pay Gap at the Federal Level
For the past two years, Christine Michel Carter has covered the impact of the Biden-Harris Administration on maternal mental health and written articles explaining all available legislature geared to single mothers, in an attempt to provide women with an easy-to-read resource.
Christine dedicates herself to representing the issue of maternal mental health in the public policy arena. She has been instrumental in advocating policy changes to maternal mental health and reproductive justice. She’s worked on the maternal initiatives of Vice President Kamala Harris, urged congressional action on a federal paid family leave program, and has worked with Congressional Caucus on Black Women & Girls, the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
As an advisory board member of the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, Christine Michel Carter is committed to preventing the suffering of mothers, babies, and families associated with untreated maternal mental health disorders, especially for Black moms and moms of color. In 2023, Christine received recognition from the City of Baltimore for her commitment to community service.
She also received a Congressional Citation from the U.S. Senate for “going above and beyond in ensuring that Black Moms and Moms of Color have access to important health information for their children and families” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine is currently assisting Representatives Underwood and Adams in the House, Senator Booker in the Senate, and members of the Black Maternal Health Caucus with reintroducing the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act for the 118th Congress.
Closing the Gender Pay Gap at the Corporate Level
Christine Michel Carter is a member of the Caring Across Generations Business Care Council, which brings business leaders together to break down silos around care issues and advocate for support and improved benefits for caregivers in the workplace. Care is the backbone of our economy, and the business sector can be a critical leader in building a strong, more equitable care economy.
Christine helps companies adjust the physical office to speak to women. This includes space for privacy, areas for breast-pumping and feeding, and family support. In 2020, Christine hosted “The State of Black Mothers in America,” which had remarkable results, raising nearly $15,000 in two weeks for non-profit organizations that supported Black moms, including the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars program.