Our Lead Dad of the Week is Jimmy Gomez, who represents California’s 34th district in Congress.
First elected in 2017, he was a presence on the floor of the House of Representatives last week with his son Hodge swaddled across the front of his suit. Like every Democratic member of Congress, he spent days casting vote after vote for speaker – until the Republican majority elected Kevin McCarthy.
Gomez took some criticism for showing up with his swaddled son. But at The Company of Dads we commend him: Gomez was leading by example in the most show-don’t-tell fashion. His newborn was there with him on the House floor to vote for one of the most important positions in American politics, the Speaker of the House.
Symbolism matters. Sure, someone else could have watched Hodge while Rep Gomez voted. But what the Congressman did was important: it showed that men can be the go-to parent just as much as women.
We’re working to rethink the concept of working parents, and Rep Gomez is leading the way. And for the myriad critics out there, I say this: chances are you’re not wearing your kid to work, but if someone who is voting on every funding bill that matters in the U.S. for the next two years can do this, what can you do at work as a Lead Dad?
