Sir, - The shifting of focus in the equality debate as highlighted in recent articles by Mary Maher and Harry Browne is to be welcomed. After nearly 25 years of anti-discrimination measures, we have increased female participation but not changed the values of the workplace. Concerns are expressed that 93 per cent of top management positions in some large institutions are still held by men. Is this really surprising if we accept the call from the Women's Conference that women want "a working world that will integrate the demands of family with the demands of the productive earning world"?
The kind of business world reflected in recent stories of tax evasion, "gazumping" and black market employment practises does not seem a hospitable environment for integrating the demands of family. Perhaps that is why many women - and now, increasingly, men too - choose not to climb the corporate ladder? Men who want the "more involved model of fathering" described in Harry Browne's article find this increasingly incompatible with corporate demands for longer working hours in pursuit of profit.
Children's rights now form part of the debate also. Needs as fundamental as time and space for play and leisure are not being met because of poor planning and traffic congestion. There is a crisis of supply of good quality childcare because its importance still goes unrecognised and inadequately rewarded.
Accommodating the rights of children both within the home and within the broader society requires flexibility. Their needs seldom arise at convenient times and are usually not compatible with an ambitious and fixed schedule. Committed parents who aim to meet both children's needs and the demands of the workplace find themselves under increasing strain. Journeys take more time and longer hours are needed to maintain competitiveness at work.
What is the way forward? The right to work is a fundamental one for male and female parents but a key question remains: can true nurturing of children be accommodated without some compromise on expectations? Must we continue to earn more and more at corporate, national and personal level in order to sustain higher and higher material standards? Generating income is only one part of the process of meeting the needs of both adults and children. Our equality debate has focussed too long on the right to participate in that process. We must now take up the challenge of making the compromises needed to allow time and space to meet non-material needs and balance the rights of men, women and children in both work and family life. - Yours, etc., Maureen Rowan,
Northbrook Ave., Ranelagh, Dublin 6.