Politicians criticising women for ‘outsourcing’ parenting need a reality check. Here it is.
During a heated exchange in a Coalition party room meeting about childcare subsidies, a male MP stated working women are “outsourcing parenting”.
The notion that working mothers are failing their children is nothing new. Derived from the Victorian era, notions of women as moral guardians of the family were a way to showcase new-found wealth. Having enough money for women to stay home was a serious indicator of class status.
But times have changed. These days, the majority of couple families have both parents employed even when children are infants, toddlers and preschool-aged. We have ditched the corsets and hoop skirts, so why do we continue to view mothers’ employment as a threat to parenting?