Woman of the house

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 36, 24 February 1987, Page 14

Woman of the house

The changing patterns of New Zealand family life have had a dramatic effect upon the lives of women. In part these changes have been linked to changing attitudes and values. But a number of less abstract causes have played a more important role. The woman of today marries, on average. six years earlier than did her sisters at the turn of the century. She also has fewer children. While the average women of 1900 had pre-schoolers until she was over40, the modern woman sends her last child to school while she is in her early 30s. The cycle of motherhood is often completed while a woman still has half her life left to live. The women of today still take primary responsibility forrearingour children. But .hey also have time to participate in the paid workforce. Married women make up 53% of the female labour force working full-time. And they make up 76% of the female part-time labour force. After the last child reaches school age, the average woman has about 30 years left before she reaches retirement age. Many women choose to work parttime while their children are at school. For most of these women, part-time work means that they can both care for their children and earn an income. There is a myth that the women who work part-time are doing so to buy luxuries. But many women work

part-time just to pay the bills. For women who are bringing up their children alone, part-time work may be the main source of family income. Women from different ethnic groups in New Zealand have different patterns of work. Maori mothers, for example, are far less likely than other women to take on paid employrnent. But when they do work, they are more likely to work full-time. Pakeha mothers are more likely to work but their jobs are likely to be only part-time. Despite the growth in the female workforce, women are still more lowly paid than men. On average, women earn only 75% of the average male wage. This fact tends to reinforce traditional family roles for both men and women. Women have traditionally taken responsibility for child rearing. And so long as men have more earning power there is little incentive for this to change. With the small but growing number of women taking on jobs — and higher paid jobs, at that — which were once considered male preserves, this pattern of inequality may gradually change. One aspect of women's lives which has remained relatively unchanged is housework. Women still do most of the household chores. In 1984, a survey of New Zealand women found that 80% did all or most of the chores. Only 14% split housework evenly. This is despite the fact that nearly 50% of married women are

in paid employrnent. Clearly many women are carrying a double load of work. They work one full-time job for pay and another unpaid job, also full-time, for their families. Although they are still filling many of the same roles as their great-grandmothers, New Zealand woman have been affected by the revival of feminism. In 1984, 96% believed that their lives had been changed for the better by the women's movement. In particular, women felt that their rights and status had been greatly increased. Measures such as the Matrimonial Property Act were seen as recognition of the contribution that women made through their unpaid work in the home. Women's unpaid labour is not confined solely to the home. Many women contribute to their communities through voluntary work. The community groups that women organise provide vital social services for the elderly, the disabled, and for people facing various life crises. The last census included a question on voluntary work so that it will soon be possible to assess just how many unpaid woman-hours go into such activities. Although the vast majority of women marry, most will spend their final days without their spouse. Some will divorce and never remarry. But the primary reason

is that women live longer than men. Today the average women lives to be nearly 78 years old. The average man only lives to be 71. Given that women generally choose spouses older than they are, women are likely to be alone for a number of years at the end of their lives. This fact was reflected in the last census which showed an increase in the number of women living alone. Clearly, roles within the family are still markedly different for men and women. Men can expect to work around 40 years of 40 hour weeks to provide the main source of income for their families. They can expect to have their clothes washed, their house cleaned, and their children cared for by their spouse. And they can expect companionship during their final years. Women can expect none of these things. Women will enter the paid workforce but their lives will differ greatly from those of their menfolk. Their careers may be interrupted by childrearing at which point they will either move into parttime work or leave the workforce altogether. Much of their work will be in the home or for voluntary organisations and they will receive no payment for it. Only wealthy women have their housework done by someone else — usually another, less well-off, woman.