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

1. ‘NollaignamBan’ ‘Celebrating Women’s Roles and Contributions Dr Catherine Conlon Changing Generations Research Project School of Social Work and Social Policy Trinity College Dublin

2. Two Spheres of Society Public Sphere economic, political life Private Sphere home, family life

3. Womanist vision of society Common sphere with participation of all for enrichment of all

4. 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....

5. New opportunities

6. Network of women mentors

7. Steps women take every day • Campaigning 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 past • Changing family size

8. Changing Family Size

9. Women’s Roles in 2011

10. Women’s roles in 2011 • In RoI 45% of labour force are women • Women aged 15-65 • RoI 56% in employment • NI 63% in employment

11. Women in work (%)

12. Women in Politics Republic of Ireland 166 TDs, 22 or 15% women Northern Ireland 108 MLAs, 20 or 19% women

13. ‘A woman’s work is never done…’

15. Changing Generations Study • Trinity College Dublin, NUI Galway collaboration • Give and take of help and support across generations • 100 people interviewed, 52 women & 48 men • High levels of solidarity expressed across generations

16. Rose, 59 I 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.

17. Rose, 59 When 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.’

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

19. Martha, 70 He 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.

20. Susan, 36 Now 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.

21. 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.

22. Stacey, 19 My 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.

23. Christine, 19 I 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.

24. ‘NollaignamBan’ ‘Celebrate Women’s Roles and Contributions Today and Throughout 2013!