"It may be better news for women... to look after their own children and fit jobs into the child's day"

[SleepWhenImDead]

So says Jill Kirby, director of the Conservative think tank, the Centre for Policy Studies in this BBC article.

Seriously, what planet is this lady on? She makes out like it's a NEW idea for women to either not to work or to work hours to limit the amount of childcare that's needed. Well done Jill, we'd never thought of that before you suggested it!

I'm going to be hard hit from these cuts to public sector, I'm currently on maternity leave but due to be made redundant anyway. The public sector is the place I'd need to get a job, and get child-friendly hours. DOes this Jill think we get to CHOOSE these things, like a job is something you do for fun to avoid looking after your own children?! Think I might as well give up even hoping for a job and soon we'll lose our child benefit as well. I'm attacked on all directions!

I agree that life will get tougher, btw. We are all going to have to work more productively.

lasttime - I think that schools budgets have largely been protected.

The 1950's nuclear family was an aberration that lasted about 15 years, why is it held up as the somehow desireable norm that we should all be striving for?

Wouldn't mind Conservative think tanks saying things like this quite so much if they also put some 'thinking' into working out how to encourage all employers, not just the public sector to take flexible working seriously.

Riven - ditch 'im - then you won't have to have his dinner on the table

'omg yes - I would dearly love to see Jill Kirby vs Xenia. Ring side seats, popcorn...

Where can we start a serious bid to get this woman in for a webchat?!?!!

I shall fully retract my recent flounce threat if you manage it Mn [hwink]

pleeeeeease

'Real Nappy Lady = a council employee who tries to convince mothers-to-be at childbirth preparation lessons to use Real Nappies rather than disposables.

Dunno about other boroughs but I used to know the local (to where we were before) real nappy lady and it was expenses only; otherwise voluntary, 2 hours per week.

hardly deficit saving numbers@ petrol to local green conference and back.

"They were discussing the case of an ambulance driver who was also a single mother & who was facing unemployment so would have to take her children out of childcare with a childminder too, so the childminder would also lose work. Jill Kirkby said that this was ok because neither of these women do jobs which generate additional revenue in the economy (or words to that effect)."

How unbelievably ignorant!

What does she think generates additional revenue then, manufacturing pointless tat, and trying to make poeple guilty/anxious enough to want it?

A serious car accident is probably a good thing in her book - it generates additional revenue by creating work for mechanics, doctors, therapists, vehicle collection agencies, florists, and even car sales.

So, decent people whose work benefits society - like that childminder and ambulance driver lose their livelihoods, while morons like Jill Kirby get paid well.

Have heard this a few times this morning.

Tory social engineering policies.

Where that leaves those of us who really love going out to work is another question. An aberration for the ducking stool?

we are to KNOW OUR PLACE
a book has appeared in our staff room Nigella - Recipes from the heart of the home, or something like that. Nigella standing looking flushed in a pinny. How long before it is handed out to all women with jobs?

Can we have a jaw dropping emoticon please? This thread is in desperate need of it!

I can't believe the crap that's come out of this woman's mouth

but I don't know my place SPBB - I don't know whether I should be working or at home

Now be fair. Jill Kirby has made a valuable contribution to society.
All that hot air she's produced will surely be used as some form of heating.

She's right. I really should only be working around my children's school hours.

I'm a practice nurse in a 4.5 GP practice with 10,000 patients. There are 5 of us PNs working part time. 4 of us have school aged children, and 1.5 of the GPs have school aged children.

Therefore if you could all just be ill, depressed, have your smears, contraception, collapses, leg ulcer dressings, blood tests, DVTs, cancer reviews and a million and one other things we deal with between 0900 and 1445 we'd be grateful.

Many thanks.

Nappy lady does seem like a pointless job, the kind of info which can be encompassed in a pamphlet.

Nappy lady: oh you use pampers, why don't you use resuable
Mother: I choose not to
Nappy lady: oh...

Sidge
I'll time my illness around school hours as well to help you out there.

Not sure about DH, he has this little woman who does everything for him, so his working hours are made up on a daily basis but that's ok, becuase, as a man, his job is economically more important than mine.

[Irony] emoticon.

I'm perfectly prepared to slag off ridicule Jill Kirkby around my child's school hours.

Perhaps Jill could time the movements of her mouth around the time her brain is actually working? Oh no, we can't wait that long.

i think her point is that many of the public sector jobs that have appeared in the last 10 years, offering women flexible hours etc. are going to go. 40% of women are employed in public sector roles, that is HUGE.

so if you have one of those jobs, and can't find something else as flexible, you are going to end up back at home. The childcare cost isn't going to stack up vs your income in the private sector.

i do know a lot of people who have what i think are pretty cushy jobs in the public sector - school hours, term time only etc... these type of jobs just aren't available in the private sector. This is what needs to be solved - the state can't just keep "creating" jobs to suit parents.

i am clearly not talking about nurses or ambulance drivers here, but all those high paid marketing consultants on "change 4 life" campaigns etc.

Its shocking, fightening and very very sad that such attitudes remain in society still.

I had a sneaking and horrible suspicion that Cameron's big society and cuts were founded on an ideology of "women belongs in the home". But what else can one expect from someone who has no understanding of what real life is like for the masses? Coming from such well-to-do stock I am sure none of the Cameron women have ever worked but all did their bit for the "little people" with their fundraising, charities and soarees. So his perspective, and those of his fellow cabinet etonians, cannot be particularly modern as far as women-children-work relationships goes surely?

I am also fed up to the core of hearing about WOMEN all the time that children are concerned. There are, mostly, fathers around too. Which means ladies it is also up to us to make sure they are involved. And I don't just mean doing the evening bath girls but making sure that the dad takes a day off work for a sick child too, that he does his share of the nursery and school run. Regardless of earning more or having a more important job or whatever. I fear we cannot expect society to represent equality if we don't also ensure that for ourselves in our private lives (obviously plenty do but hopefully you get my point - I'll elaborate if I'm blasted for this comment).

Damn damn damn I am now really angry!

Oh and I second getting the lovely madam who uttered the wise words on a webchat so we can all be enlightened (and joyfully resign are useless jobs and skip home to bake a cake).

Yes, I reckon that loads of TAs will be phased out, as that is the kind of work which SAHMs can do for free.

One of the great things about previous times is the explosion of teaching assistants in schools, not just at primary level, but also the profusion of pastoral support which is available at senior level. Imagne over the next 5 years or so the budgets for that will be reduced.

Nick Clegg may you burn in hell.

MaMoTTaT it's a toughie. Any chance you could clone yourself, so one you works in an appropriate job for a woman, and the other you stays home and fulfils the government SAHM requirement?

real nappies are promoted by HVs in our area, and the supply part of the service is done by a private contractor. Saves the taxpayer cash though - by keeping nappies out of landfill. landfill costs money.

Not to say there isn't huge waste in local government (or indeed national government) - my friends used to do consultation for £20k a year. she could do about 1-2 projects a month. Projects she couldn't do were outsourced at £20k each - she asked to employ an assistant so she could do it all in-house and reduce cost but was refused (because they wanted to reduce employment cost rther thn department budgets...) - that kind of waste really does make your eyes water.

i mean to add, she worked for a local council.

Bonsoir - "But the truth is that, as a society, we cannot afford a lot of the public sector jobs that are "nice to have" rather than essential."

Define "we" - seems to me the French state has a whole lot of "nice to have" to lose before it comes close to the UK....and not much appetite for doing so, judging by recent events. Maybe leave those who live in the UK to judge where the line between nice to have and essential lies for us?