Simona Grace is a single mom, an outspoken advocate for women’s political empowerment and the founder of Moms in Office. Prior to founding Moms in Office in 2018, a progressive political organization dedicated to electing more moms to office and working to achieve economic justice for all women, she has held various positions in education and publishing.

A speaker and frequent commentator on women’s rights and progressive issues, her writing and work have been featured in numerous publications. She has been named the 2020 California Mother of the Year by the American Mothers Organization. After immigrating to the United States when she was 18 years old, Simona graduated from UCLA with a degree in Comparative Literature, summa cum laude. She lives in Los Angeles with her 11 year old son.

-
Key Takeaways 

• We see a picture of someone on social media and we decide who the person is and fill in their story without actually knowing it (12:38)
• She’s been fighting her whole life - for her education, her immigration status, against bias, for her son - so she became really good at it. Once she was in a position where she was settled, she realized she wanted to fight for the rights of other women and moms to make sure that someone gives them a voice (19:40)
• A lot of women question themselves and talk themselves out of running for office because politicians don’t look and sound like them - most politicians we see are rich, white men. How can a working mom or single mom affect change - it seems daunting (22:55)
• What do you need to run for office? Your determination to help others, your authenticity, caring for your community and your wanting your child to have a good future. That will keep you going (24:16)
• We have 535 voting members in congress, 25-26% of congress is made up of women. Out of that small group of women, only 25 are raising kids under 18. That’s 5% of congress. Moms make up one of the largest segments of the US population and the smallest segment of our federal government (29:48)
• What can women do who want to run for office, but are scared? Stop telling yourself that you can’t. We need to stop questioning ourselves just because we don’t look like the standard politician in the US. Start talking to others in your network for advice on how to keep going and you will find people who will build you up and make sure you don’t give up. The more women we elect, less women will question whether or not they are capable of doing it (34:30)

-
Thank you to ChildLife Essentials for sponsoring this episode! ChildLife Essentials has been a trusted children supplements brand for over 20 years. ChildLife Essentials is offering 20% off their most popular bundles on amazon.com/childlife - grab these Black Friday deals before they run out! No coupon code required. 

Follow Simona on Instagram or her website

Follow Mommin’ Podcast on Instagram 

Thanks for listening! Please rate the show and leave a review if you liked what you heard and make sure to subscribe on Amazon Music, iHeartRADIO,  iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or TuneIn!