‘Nollaig na mBan’‘Celebrating Women’s Roles and Contributions

Dr Catherine ConlonChanging Generations Research Project

School of Social Work and Social PolicyTrinity College Dublin

Private Spherehome, family life

Public Sphereeconomic, political life

Two Spheres of Society

Womanist vision of society

Common sphere with

participation of all for

enrichment of all

Some steps women have taken securing the vote;removing the bar on women

working after marriage; equal pay for equal work;recognition for work of bearing

and rearing as fundamental contribution to society....

New opportunities

Network of women mentors

Mothers

Aunts

NeighboursTeachers

Community

volunteers

Steps women take every dayCampaigning at national level; Setting up and joining local community

groups; Getting children to school Sending them to college Returning to education Taking up jobs Taking on caring roles Uncovering histories, poetry, art and craft

of women in the pastChanging family size

Changing Family Size

Controlling fertility

Changing

population

Changing Roles

Women’s Roles in 2011

At work 46%

Looking after

home/family 28%

Un-em-

ployed 6%

Student 10%

Retired 7% Other 3%

At workLooking after homeUnemployedStudentRetiredOther

Women’s roles in 2011

In RoI 45% of labour force are women

Women aged 15-65 oRoI 56% in employmentoNI 63% in employment

No chil

dren

Youn

gest

child

0-3

Youn

gest

child

4-5

youn

gest

child

6+0

20406080

100Republic of Ireland

No children 1 or more children

0

20

40

60

80

100Northern Ireland

Women in work (%)

Women in PoliticsRepublic of Ireland

166 TDs,

22 or 15% women

Northern Ireland

108 MLAs,

20 or 19% women

‘A woman’s work is never done…’

Changing Generations StudyTrinity College Dublin, NUI

Galway collaborationGive and take of help and

support across generations100 people interviewed, 52

women & 48 menHigh levels of solidarity

expressed across generations

Rose, 59I am very involved with my grandchildren as well. I would have [the eldest grandson], he’s 20 now and I would have reared him until he was 14. He lived with me until he was 14.And was his mother living with you too?Well, she was for the first few years but then she wasn’t and she went [away] for a year and then she was working. She bought her own house [down the country] and she was working fulltime and then she went back to college and she did her degree and her masters and her PhD in [science]. So when she had all of that done then she decided that it was time for him to be with her. Now, that broke my heart but it was right. I mean it was his place to be with his mother.

Rose, 59When she was pregnant her Mammy put her out and we took her in and she was here until [my grandson] was maybe eight or nine months and they moved out together and then it didn’t work and then he came back home and we still support her because she works now and so we go down and collect him in the mornings and bring him to school and we will go now this evening and collect him from school and we’ll have him here and I have to bring him to his dancing this evening at five and then we will bring him home so we will be supporting her.And that is pretty much fulltime child care?Well it is really yes. And then he comes on a Saturday and he stays here Saturday night and Sunday night with his Daddy. … [My son] didn’t like it and he used to say to me when she would be in here ‘What’s she doing in here?’ and I used to say ‘… you brought her into our lives and we grew to love her and just because you and her finished doesn’t mean we have to finish with her. She is the mother of your son and she will always be there in our lives and that’s that.’

Generational Observing

Members of one generation observing the life strains, as well as freedoms, on other generations and responding

Martha, 70He goes to a Crèche, he is collected on a bus and they finish at six and it is highly unlikely that my daughter or my son-in-law can get to there before six o’clock. So, what I normally do is I go down around four and pick him up. We might go shopping and go back to my house and finish his homework. … Now I have started to cook and give him his dinner as well. … I am one of many; I can say that several of my friends are doing the same thing. They are jumping into the breach and helping out in minding children, collecting children and babysitting. Some of them are actually, instead of the parents paying money to a crèche are actually now getting involved in collecting the children and bringing them in. My mum did a certain amount of that for me in her later years.

Susan, 36Now that I have returned to college and I have a young son, she helps me with school runs, homework and sometimes dinner when I get home late and things like that. I would be a lone parent but that kind of pressure is taken off me a bit. It does feel like there are two people there and I can offload a little bit of the responsibility to my Mam when it comes to doing a couple of the - the running around and maybe the shopping. She does really, really support me when it comes to keeping the home and that kind of thing.

Susan, 36

I do see my Mam in the future if she needs care herself, that she would be with me. That is definitely where I would see the roles changing. It is quite two-way at the moment.

Stacey, 19My Nanny is 84 and she is very bad with Alzheimer’s, and it is just mainly I go over because my father lives with her. Obviously he can’t bath her and wash her or she won’t let him, she is very independent like that I am just there to bath her, wash her, dress her, cook the dinner. … My Da leaves for work about seven … I come over about 9.30/10.00 and then just keep an eye on her, make her a cup of tea and a sandwich and stuff or whatever and then cook dinner and then she gets two tablets at six and three tablets at eight o’clock and then he is usually home then so then I go home . … she is my Nanny, I shouldn’t be paid to look after her I feel.

Christine, 19I know she likes when I call home so I try to do that, you know what I mean, just to even say goodnight or whatever. … I would say ‘Goodnight Mam’ maybe if I was in bed or something like that. .. Ma, what does she want from me? She just wants basically a bit of communication, just to know I am happy, that’s all she wants.

‘Nollaig na mBan’‘Celebrate Women’s Roles and Contributions

Today and Throughout 2013!