No easy jobs for part-time mothers

In relation to Matt Harper’s letter (Mar 7) on mothers who are free ‘to choose either to stay at home or take up part-time, low paid, self-fulfilling work’ while men remain as breadwinners — in what world does this actually happen?

A family struggles to survive on one person’s average industrial wage.

Thus many women take up part-time work to balance their income while still leaving them free to perform at least some childcare, which is otherwise so costly to pay for that it often doesn’t make financial sense for a woman to work full-time while paying for the care of her children.

The part-time work that is often the only feasible option for a mother is often low paid, that is true, but rarely “self-fulfilling”.

Recent graduates will tell you how fierce the competition is for paying jobs in ‘self-fulfilling’ areas like NGOs — these are not just easy jobs that part-time mothers can walk into.

Sarah McCabe

Bray

Co Wicklow