| LOGSNAPPER'S SOAPBOX: 'Family-friendly' workplaces and Breastfeeding in Public, Ten News, Friday, 28th February, 2003, 11.30 am - 12 noon AET. |
| Victorian MP, Kirsty Marshall was ejected from Parliament whilst breastfeeding her newborn baby. This has fueled a debate on 'family-friendly' workplace policies - still a luxury in this supposed age of Equal Employment Opportunity. For women, a 'family-friendly' policy is one which enables women to combine a career with motherhood or a family. Some examples of hard-won benefits for women in the workplace are maternity leave, flexible hours, 'jobshare' positions and (coming soon) paternity leave for new fathers and work-based childcare. The news item has also opened up another issue: the right of nursing mothers to breastfeed in public (even when alot of men are around). Angry Anderson, the short, bald-headed frontman of Rose Tattoo and author of the book 'Scarred for Life' (p233) is in favour of it. He states: '.....I appreciate what breastfeeding really is. It's more than nourishment for the baby - it's an incredible communication between mother and child.... It's a step back towards civilization where womanhood and motherhood are revered and not just pushed into a corner'. But, getting back to what is a family-friendly policy, such a term can have many other meanings. For a traditional male who is also a family man, a family-friendly policy is one which pays a father enough money to support his family so his wife won't have to go back to work. The same is also true for single mothers who have to both bring home the bacon and cook it too!!! To a single person without any kids of their own, family-friendly policies are ones that allow single people (especially young single people) to work 'normal' hours so they can have the chance to meet up with others they like and with common interests, form relationships and have time for each other. This is not possible while young people are forced to work long hours and/or shift work in order to get enough money to pay the bills. And back to Ms Marshall and the baby, I believe the reason she was ejected was that she probably made all the men feel 'uncomfortable' when she pulled her bosom out to feed her kid because they didn't know which way to look; or that the kid was a distraction during the proceeding. And if this is a case, I believe there is a time and a place for everything. |
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