A woman’s work is never done

Women’s work. It’s a simple throwaway phrase but it is enough to send the hearts and blood pressure of any liberal into orbit.
For many, the idea of women’s work and men’s work is completely abhorrent. Even as a concept, it is difficult to understand. Surely work is work and, as such, is for everyone regardless of sex.
What is also interesting and equally insulting to many is that it only refers to the sex of the person who is carrying out the work and yet the connotations of it are as far-reaching as any direct insult.
However, I believe that to dismiss the phrase as merely the sexist utterance of men in positions of authority or at the head of households is just wrong. It is also very wrong and insensitive to think that the phrase is derogatory or that it only refers to tasks that should be carried out indoors. Yes, it can be used in a derogatory fashion and has been wielded by many a chauvinist but the power of the word is in the receiver because the work they are referring to is some of the most important and, therefore, it should be carried like a badge of honour.
Women’s work has traditionally referred to the menial or what were thought of as lesser tasks to be carried out indoors. It was seen as second-class work and as many a domestic engineer – house wife or house husband just doesn’t cut the mustard anymore – will tell you, that work is still under appreciated.
However, these were, and continue to be, essential jobs. They may have seemed trivial but, in many cases, they were kept the wolf from the door.
Women’s work was far from glamorous in the strict sense but there is no denying that there was something very glamorous about the women at the heart of the first episode of The Way We Worked, which began on RTÉ last Thursday night.
The series opener, which featured a Clare woman, looked at the contribution the women of Ireland have made to farming and profiled the ethos of women’s liberation that has existed on farms for centuries.
These women were glamorous in the true sense. They were bright, intelligent, full of life and had an engaging story to tell. They told of great times of hardship but also of the joy that the work they did brought to them. They reared families, animals, grain and bread all at once, knowing that they were equals in the project that was their single, married and widowed life.
Earning a living from farming does not mean a nine-to-five lifestyle, nor is it possible to leave your work at work. Farming is your life and when you marry a farmer, you are not just a farmer’s wife, locked indoors to put your feet up and watch telly while he tends the land. Far from it.
As anyone will tell you, a farming family is a partnership and the women of Ireland have been equal partners in such a living for a very long time. A farmer’s wife is a cook, mother, nurse, night watchmen and much more depending on the season, the economic circumstance and the age of their children.
The lives that these women described were not extraordinary. Yes, Eileen Cronin had to raise her children and tend the farm by herself when her husband died but it is no different to the story told by many women across the country. Her story is one of many tragedies that exist in the provinces of this nation but it is her spirit that is fascinating and extraordinary to us.
These women persevered in a time when women were viewed very negatively if they returned to work when they became married. Teachers and nurses across the country were forced to resign upon marriage and this is what I mean by farming being the great liberator.
On the farm, women played an important role in the life and economic viability of the farm. They were shareholders in its success. They were driving tractors when it was unheard of for women to even think about driving a car.
Farming may be viewed as backward and traditional by many but this is the great misnomer because in my opinion, and the sentiment is echoed by the women at the centre of the documentary, farming was ahead of its time.
It allowed women to play a role in earning the crust that fed their families, while non-farming women across the country could only dream of doing so.
I am more than aware that there are many counter-arguments to my position but these are the issues that the documentary raised. The issues at the centre of women’s work will continue to be thrashed out by feminists for years to come but one simple fact remains. A documentary that is simple in its production and simple in its execution, using only the techniques of interview and footage can be just as emotive and thought-provoking as the most flashy of television programmes.
The Way We Worked inspires the viewer to think and to my mind, this is the sign of a good series. The next episode deals with women who have earned their money by knitting. It touches on the notion of a second income and again the idea of silent partnership in what was seen by many as a patriarchal society.
Tune in to RTÉ One on Thursday evening at 8.30pm and see what you think for yourself.