Women from a decade

Press, 27 July 1985, Page 20

Women from a decade

Women and Change: A Study of New Zealand Women. By Claudia Bell and Vivienne Adair. National Council of Women, P.O. Box 12117, Wellington North. 160 pp, Ulus. (Reviewed by Joan Curry) Relatively speaking it is easy enough to change laws, harder to change social attitudes. The results of a survey commissioned by the National Council of Women indicate that while the Decade for Women was seen by the women, and some men, of New Zealand as a time of change for “others out there,” a significant proportion of respondents considered that it had had little effect on their own lives. Those women directly affected by legislation enacted during the last decade perhaps found their lives most changed. The introduction of equal pay, for example, or easier no-fault divorce, or the even division of matrimonial property on the dissolution of marriage, have all helped women to stand on a more equal footing with men. These are changes imposed from outside, applied by outsiders and seen, on the whole, to be just. When it comes to everyday matters, however, the picture changes. Or rather, does not change very much. Women in 1985 do pretty much what they did in 1975. They do most of the housework, they work outside the house at the lower paid jobs, and their public voices have been only slightly more in evidence. The status of women as wives and mothers has not been

noticeably improved by demands for increased respect. These are, of course, generalities. A survey of this nature can only throw up generalities. The sample was limited; only 730 respondents, roughly half of which came from women who are members of organisations. The compilers of this report admit that the replies to their questionnaire came from predominantly white, well educated, middle class people and the results of the survey reflect that bias. During the decade under review these women, predictably, have found that they have become more self-confident, won better job opportunities, become a little richer. In other words they have found that life gets more comfortable as the years pass. For others the decade marked a deterioration in their circumstances, also predictable. These are women who, since 1975, have started out on marriage and parenthood and have problems with housing and money and small children. Others are trying to cope with teen-agers and find their home lives temporarily tiresome. No doubt in another 10 years these women will be reporting improved circumstances too. And most predictable of all, the compilers conclude that they “did not find women unanimous on a single issue we asked about.” That should surprise no-one. And perhaps that is the most valuable result of a survey such as this: to demonstrate the fact that women are individuals with a wide range of needs and opinions, and that it is up to each of us, as individuals, to speak up for ourselves.