UK’s new Education Minister
Currently there is much media attention on Ruth Kelly, the new Secretary of State for Education. She has four children and a high profile job, however she does also have a full time nanny and it is highly likely that she receives help with domestic chores.

The average woman in the UK spends 27% of her time on housework compared to men’s 20%. Whilst the number of women working over 60 hours outside the home has now increased to 13%, it is still the woman doing three quarters of the housework.

The lion’s share
With over 67% of women returning to work after maternity leave, there needs to be a little more of an egalitarian attitude to the workload in the home.

When their son was born, it was agreed that Maria would take him to nursery and Tim would pick him up.  Needless to say this arrangement did not last very long and Maria now has to do two runs to the nursery, go home to make the dinner, give the baby his bath, put him to bed, do the household chores, get things ready for work the next day and then collapses in a heap! What is ‘super’ about that?

Part time worker?
If 93% of working mothers find it difficult to juggle a career with family life then working part time may be the answer. However a friend of mine complained that ‘part timers are looked down upon even though they work harder to get the work done within the shorter timescale’. And with the average woman working part-time and earning 40% less for every hour she works than a man working full-time, this is hardly a great advertisement.

Own thoughts
You really only have to listen to yourself and do what you think is best. As a working mother I believe I do have the best of both worlds. I have a flexible employer who allows me to work two days a week, I can then spend the rest of the week doing activities with my children which I value very much and manage to get some housework done.  I also have a job that I enjoy doing. I know that I am lucky.

Nelly
August 2005