Second lady Usha Vance is a Yale Law School graduate, a former clerk to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, a successful private practice attorney, and the wife of Vice President JD Vance. But to millennial mothers everywhere, she is one of us.

Watching Vance hold her 3-year-old daughter Mirabel decked out in not one, not two, but three Band-Aids during her husband’s swearing-in, or seeing her firmly remind her 7-year-old son Ewan to behave during the inauguration parade shows that Vance is just another mother trying to do her best with a smile.

Until her husband was selected as President Donald Trump’s running mate, Usha Vance was an attorney at Munger, Tolles & Olson. She resigned “to focus on caring for [her] family.” In her role as second lady, Vance has the chance to lead a mother’s agenda in America.

Vance could take this opportunity to shine a light on policies that are friendly toward mothers and families in our society. While the Biden administration pushed policies to increase the number of women working in traditional full-time jobs, the data show that many mothers prefer more flexibility, such as part-time work.

Overall, women comprise a majority of part-time workers, 63% in 2020. Of employed parents with a child under 18 in 2020, 20% of employed mothers worked part-time, while only 4% of employed fathers worked part-time. Many mothers prefer part-time work. Almost 30% of mothers with children under 18 at home like to work part time, according to a Pew Research Center study.

While sweeping federal legislation is not the answer, Vance could use her role to highlight innovative efforts to give people, including mothers, more options to set up work situations that work best for them and their families. Here are some ideas in that vein.

Don’t penalize part-time work

Ohio was one of a handful of states requiring lawyers to practice full time to be eligible to be admitted without examination. This penalized lawyers who reduced their hours, even if the extra time was used to care for their families. Last year, the Supreme Court of Ohio removed its full-time work requirement. Maine, Maryland, and Missouri still have full-time work requirements. This example might hit close to home for Vance, who made the choice to stop practicing law at a firm to care for her family.

Vance could bring awareness to unnecessary occupational licensing rules that punish working mothers. By focusing attention on positive change at the state level, some states might take action to make it easier for those who want to work part time to do so.

Support flexible work

California Assembly Bill 5 went into effect in 2020, implementing stricter conditions for classifying workers as independent contractors. This makes it more difficult for people to work as independent contractors, a work arrangement many people, including mothers, choose for the flexibility. The Protecting the Right to Organize Act was introduced to implement stricter conditions at the federal level. While the PRO Act failed to pass Congress, the Department of Labor under former President Joe Biden issued a rule that many independent contractors fear will reclassify them as employees.

Vance could promote efforts like the one in Utah, where Gov. Spencer Cox signed into law a voluntary portable benefits plan that makes gig work even more attractive to some. After all, 80% of independent contractors prefer their work arrangement.

Make life easier for new mothers

I am currently nursing and was called in for jury duty. Nursing a small baby or pumping for a day at the courthouse does not sound fun. Fortunately, I was excused.

Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill excusing women who gave birth within six months from reporting for jury duty. Other states have enacted family-friendly policies related to jury duty, such as exempting nursing mothers. Vance could give these efforts more attention to prompt states to act. Federal legislation has been introduced to exempt breastfeeding mothers from jury duty.

Encourage on-ramping programs

Many mothers would prefer to adjust their work schedules to match their different seasons of life, including quitting work for a period to care for children. One challenge mothers face, or fear they will face, is how to return to work after a career gap. Some companies have started to offer “Returnships,” or on-ramping programs targeting women who have been out of the workforce to care for children. For example, Goldman Sachs offers returnships to people who have been out of the workforce for two or more years.

Bringing awareness to such private sector programs will help mothers know more options.

Champion a mother’s agenda

Women themselves can best decide what they want in life. Policies should focus on giving them more options, not making choices for them, stacking the deck for one set of choices, or promoting one version of success.

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Doug Emhoff promoted gender equity. Jill Biden brought attention to the sacrifices made by military families, community colleges, and breast cancer prevention. Along with promoting art therapy, Karen Pence also brought attention to the sacrifices made by military families.

I hope Vance advocates a mother’s agenda as one of her priorities.