Women aspire to be housewives - without any of the housework

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Women aspire to be housewives - without any of the housework

By Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent

(Filed: 11/05/2004)

 

____________________

 

"Women think: 'What's mine is mine, and what's his is mine.' "

_____________________

 

 

Mothers are rejecting equality in the workplace and prefer the idea of

becoming full-time housewives - but not ones who actually do housework.

 

This is the overall conclusion of research among 2,100 British adults that

says women are happy to abandon the workplace but not if it means spending

all day at home cooking, cleaning and looking after children.

 

 

Marian Salzman: well known for spotting pre-mainstream trends

Instead they want to play the "role" of housewife with a little help from,

for instance, a nanny, and someone who does the ironing. And unlike Kylie

Minogue, they don't want to do any dusting either.

 

The report, by Marian Salzman, chief strategic officer of Euro RSCG

Worldwide, the world's fifth largest advertising agency, describes these

women as princess-style "domestic divas" who effectively exploit their

husbands. "Today, 'women's lib' means wanting to be liberated from the

intense pressures of the modern-day working mum," she said.

 

"And what we're seeing is a serious gender divide regarding women in the

workplace. This time around, it is the women who want to stay at home and

the men who want to keep them in the offices and factories."

 

Miss Salzman, 45, who does not have children, is well known in the United

States for spotting trends before they go mainstream. She predicted the rise

of 1970s fashion nostalgia and, on the eve of the Bridget Jones phenomenon,

spotted that single professional women would become the new, free-spending

yuppies.

 

Her report last year, the Future of Men, predicted that "metrosexuals" -

straight men who care about fashion, food and grooming - would be the new

target of advertisers.

 

Yesterday she said 69 per cent of women thought it perfectly acceptable for

females to be housewives and not to earn a salary. In contrast, only 48 per

cent of men felt that women should remain outside paid employment.

 

Her research suggested that the motivation to spend more time at home was

"self-centred" for some women. "There are many women who choose to stay home

out of concern for their children's quality of life," she said. "But there

are plenty of others who are paying lip service to being the 2004 version of

the perfect mum.

 

"In reality they are domestic divas who want the flawless kids, courtesy of

the nanny; a spotless home, thanks to a cleaning service; and a reputation

for being a fabulously put-together homemaker.

 

"These are the women who are becoming a target of disdain and rage on the

part of spouses who didn't expect to be shouldering the financial burden

single-handedly."

 

She said she was not talking about mothers with very young children but

those whose offspring were older and in full-time education.

 

"My two closest friends are stay-at-home women and I have no idea what they

do all day. One of them has a daughter at university and a second daughter

at high school."

 

Jill Kirby, the chairman of the family group at the Centre for Policy

Studies think-tank, said: "It's very clear that women who have the choice

between working and being at home with their children still want to

prioritise their home life and life with their children."

 

She denied claims that women who wanted to be at home were often lazy, with

their reliance on paid help. "We can't create a world where people just do

what they want," she said, "but women do need fulfilment."

 

Last week the actress Gwyneth Paltrow reignited the debate over career

versus children for working mothers, saying: "I can't understand mothers who

put their career before children. There are certain women in this business

who have children and I just think 'you must never see them'. You can't do

movies back to back and see your child if they go to school."

 

Holly Hamilton-Bleakley, of Full Time Mothers, a lobbying organisation, said

she abhorred the idea of women buying in child care so that they could

simply sit in a coffee shop, but she did not believe this was an accurate

picture.

 

"The dual income, two-career family is becoming outdated. Parents are

finally recognising that children need time with them. Time spent with

children is well spent and makes a major difference to a child's life."

 

But Miss Salzman said the reality was that women with older children were

increasingly becoming self-indulgent. "They look at the realities of paid

work - the stress, the politics, the pressure, the dress code - and they say

that it would mean less 'me' time.

 

"And we are not just talking about women who earn lots of money. Women who

earn £27,500, or £55,000, or more than £55,000 did not want to work, and men

are feeling a great deal of financial pressure.

 

"Women think: 'What's mine is mine, and what's his is mine.' "