Motherhood: Economic Exploitation in Disguise

Caring for young children is work. It is arduous, time consuming, socially useful work. In Australia, the people who carry out this work, mainly women, are seen by the community- at large to have a responsibility to perform this work to a minimum standard enshrined in State legislation such as Victoria's Children and Young Persons Act 1989. Yet the people who do this work have no corresponding right to a fair share of community resources, and are not the only ones whose labour is appropriated and exploited in this way. Others include people caring for relatives with disabilities and people with significant disabilities who save the community resources by caring for themselves. However, this article will focus on the care of young children