Value of women’s research

Press, 24 May 1985, Page 5

Value of women’s research

Voluntary research done by the Society for Research on Women is particularly valuable because it is done by women really enthusiastic about their subject and because their concerns are not shared by the establishment, says the Minister of Customs and Consumer Affairs. Mrs Shields. Mrs Shields was a cofounder of the societv.

Addressing the annual meeting of the society's Christchurch branch last evening, Mrs Shields said that women, even women Cabinet Ministers, belonged to another culture. “It is true because we have different experiences." Mrs Shields said.

Eighteen years ago when the society was founded its first members were people who wanted to do something about women.

“They were concerned about their own problems as women and ... it was the only way in which they

could express this concern for change." Mrs Shields said.

The society’s determination to continue to present quality data and work that was generally well respected should’ not deter it from investigating areas not yet regarded as quite respectable, she said. "I can well remember some of the critical comments about our first study which suggested that even to do a descriptive survey was somehow to our ourselves beyond the pale. In fact there were numerous attempts to label us as wild radicals who should not be taken seriously." Mrs Sheilds said.

She emphasised the need to choose a research area which deeply concerned the researchers and the importance of building into the research programme what it was hoped to achieve in the end, by knowing the target groups.

These groups — Government agencies, voluntary agencies and communitv groups — should be kept in touch with the research so they might make improvements to themselves along the way.

"Although in the 19 years since S.R.O.W. was first started, there have been quite radical developments in social research both in the universities and within Government departments, and to a lesser extent in the private sector, there is still a very real role for voluntary social research and in particular for research on women.” Mrs Shields said.

She emphasised that the information of groups with particular interests, such as Women Against Pornography. did not mean there was no longer a place for S.R.O.W. The Society could help those groups by assisting them with research skills. Mrs Shields said.