this is just making me realise how much 'society' just does not cater for childcare.
one of the fundamental requirements, even of a basic society (stereotypical cavemen) is that babies are born & grow to be healthy, contributing adults.
within 'advanced' society, it is still a basic requirement, but with the added need for those adults to be socialised into following society's mores.
you would think, therefore, that maternity & childcare would be almost reverred. pretty much the best thing that can happen for society is for children to be brought up and cared for effectively. but society actually seems to work against that. look at how hard it is to have a job & children.
without having & caring for children, there would be no future for any of us - we'd end up dying out, and the ending would be pretty grim for those who hung on the longest. that may be best for the planet, but not best for humanity.
i am really thinking that until that job is seen as pretty much fundamental to the survival of the race, and therefore respected as such, then there won't be equality of the sexes.
just because it's possible to do a half-decent job on the cheap, it is treated as unimportant, and foisted onto women (mainly), then treated almost as a crime if we need time off work (be it a day or a lifetime), and that we are leaching off society.