M.P. sounds note of caution for women

Press, 5 November 1984, Page 5

M.P. sounds note of caution for women

Women who choose to be full-time parents and homemakers must be given the financial climate to survive, said the member of Parliament for Avon, Mrs Mary Batchelor, in Christchurch on Saturday.

Speaking at the opening of the Christchurch women’s forum, Mrs Batchelor said she wanted to sound a note of caution for women who were demanding their fundamental rights. “If we are to improve the lot of women, the emphasis must be on choice. Whether that choice is to join the workforce in a career capacity or to opt for family duties, it must be a personal choice and there should be no pressure on women to

take on both roles,” she said.

“My concern has always been for the average woman because I believe the vocal professional, career-orientated women can, and do, speak for themselves. But the factory worker, shop assistant, and worker in lower-paid occupations do not always have that ability and their voices are not heard so often.” There was a difference between working to supplement a partner’s wage and a single person who worked for her own survival.

Many women would choose to be full-time parents and home-makers but found it impossible to do

that and to keep up with two-income families, Mrs Batchelor said. “If we are concerned about the issues that affect women, we should work towards ensuring that women who make the choice of being parents are given the financial climate to enable them to survive.

“But we must also recognise that there are many women who do not want that type of lifestyle. Their choice is for competition in the world of business,” she said.

Women must recognise that whatever choice they made <there would be responsibilities and drawbacks to go with it.