In the Modern Family episode "Someone To Watch Over Lily," Mitch and Cam try to figure out who the guardians of Lily should be in case anything ever happened to them. It came down to two couples: Claire and Phil vs. Gloria and Jay.
Claire and Gloria are vastly different women and mothers. Claire juggled being a homemaker with three kids while Gloria was a hardworking single mother before meeting Jay. Both women have their strengths as well as their weaknesses, but who was the ultimate mother? Mitch and Cam ended up choosing Gloria and Jay as Lily's guardians, but did they make the right choice?
Claire: Made It A Point That Women Can Be Both Mothers & Career Women
Claire is a woman who enjoyed working and couldn't wait to get back to work when her kids were old enough. As soon as the opportunity arose for Claire to work at her dad's company, she took it and slowly became CEO when her dad retired. She later became the Senior Vice President of a company called Organize 'Em. As a woman in power, Claire took every chance she could to encourage and enlighten her daughters. She showed them that women are capable of anything and can be both mothers and top dogs in business.
Gloria: Worked More Than One Job To Manny As A Single Mother
When Javier and Gloria broke up, he wasn't a consistent figure in Manny's upbringing. Gloria moved from Colombia to Florida to Texas and later Lis Angeles where they currently live. She worked multiple jobs to her and Manny without any assistance from Javier.
Considering how sweet and bright Manny is, Gloria indeed did an amazing job raising him without helping hands. Everything she did was for the benefit of her son. And now that Gloria has Joe, she proves her dedication to him all over again.
Claire: Pulled Strings To Make Luke Feel Valued
With the school year coming to a close, awards were given out to the best and brightest. Alex loved awards day because she usually won most of them. However, Claire felt that Luke was going to feel left out if his sister came home with multiple awards and he came home with none.
To help Luke's confidence, Claire went to school and tried to bribe the principal to award Luke with something. The principal said no but Claire still made some moves to get Luke an award. There's nothing she wouldn't do for her son.
Gloria: Made Sure Manny Was Treated Equally
In "The Closet Case," there's a big football game at school and it's a tradition for the cheerleaders to decorate the football players' lockers. Gloria becomes nervous when nobody decorates Manny's locker, so she tracks down the cheerleader responsible.
The cheerleader tells Gloria that it's a sexist tradition and that she didn't think it was fair. Gloria took things into her own hands and decorated Manny's locker as if the cheerleaders did it. It was weird that Gloria wrote "Sexy Manny" on his locker, but it proves that she would pull all the stops to make her son feel wanted.
Claire: Put Herself In Alex's Shoes
Claire tends to be a bit judgmental at times. Her controlling nature makes others feel like they're not good enough. But in the episode "Under Pressure," Claire went to Alex's high school for a parents' night and learned how much pressure she was under.
Claire realized how much homework Alex had and that failure was not an option. As soon as Alex left her therapy session, she hugged Claire tight and thanked her for finally walking in her shoes.
Gloria: Trusts Her Sons Completely
Gloria and Claire are around the same age and have children around the same age as well. The difference is that Gloria trusts Manny, and Claire doesn't trust her kids for a second. In one episode, Gloria and Claire went away for a spa trip but had to go back home hours later once Claire realized her kids were lying to her.
Although their kids were, in fact, lying to them, Gloria's trust in her son is inspiring. It made her relationship with Manny closer. He realized he could go to her for anything and that she wouldn't judge him for his mistakes.
Claire: Dropped Everything To Be There For Her Girls
Claire is rough around the edges but when her kids are in trouble she's the first person to get on their level and make them feel whole again. A great example of Claire's loyalty to her children is when Andy got engaged to Beth, leaving Haley heartbroken. Claire nursed Haley back to life while lounging on the couch and day-drinking with her. Claire did the same thing when Alex needed some self-care before going back to school. Together, they cuddled on the couch and bonded over reality TV shows and snack foods. In moments like these, Claire is both a mom and a friend.
Gloria: Preached Body Positivity
As confident and outgoing as Manny is, he still has moments of self-doubt. In one episode, he was nervous about taking his shirt off at a pool party. Things took an odd turn when Manny had a wardrobe malfunction and Claire saw Manny naked.
Gloria then did everything she could to make Manny feel confident, so she begged Claire to praise Manny for the body that he had. She wanted Manny to know there was nothing wrong with his body and to live proudly.
Claire: ed Haley's Unplanned Pregnancy
As much as Claire hated Dylan and wanted Haley to choose Arvin or Andy, she had no choice but to Haley in her decision — especially when Haley found out that she was pregnant. There is no way that Claire ed Haley's pregnancy or her relationship with Dylan but she knew Haley needed her. She knew that Haley needed her help to get through this next chapter in her life. Claire buckled up and put aside her fears to help her daughter.
Gloria: Looked At All The Kids In The Family As Her Own
Claire was far too competitive to ever think of any other child as her own. She thought it was weird how mature Manny was and she told the cameras that she was scared of Lily. Gloria, on the other hand, took a special liking to Alex. She knew Alex was the black sheep of the family and tried giving her when she needed it. Gloria and Haley had the most in common (makeup, shopping, wine...) and often confided in one another. No matter how young or old the children in her family are, she instinctually acts as a second mom.