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HomeCartoonsFrom the Editor: Women’s (and men's) work…

From the Editor: Women’s (and men’s) work…

Jon Rawlinson
By Jon Rawlinson
May 10, 2026
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Franklin Times ed’ at work: original image by Roger Smith

Come Mother’s Day this Sunday, mums will be inundated with such gifts as flowers, chocolates, perfume, vouchers for spa visits and other such lovely things.

They are all credible offerings to the hardest working parent in ‘abode-business’.
Later in the year – is it in September or something like that? – it’ll be dad’s turn to receive gifts. He will be given socks, undies, aftershave and the like as well as tools… lots of tools.

The clothing is not optional – most dads would never throw out holey socks and undies unless replacements are supplied.

As for the tools and the stinkies, they send a clear message – men are personified by their work… and if they don’t have someone with good taste by their side, they will stink up the joint.

The moral of the story? A man’s work is never really done right – not without the right tools – and because a woman’s work is never done, she damn well deserves a break!

This is a stereotype, but stereotypes are based in fact.

Instead of gaining the freedom to choose whether or not to work in the 1960s, liberationists won women the duty to do so.

The economy adjusted and now the average household struggles to get by on a single wage. It’s not that simple, but there is a connection.

As a result, there’s a lot of highly qualified and educated, hard-working, sleep-deprived, run-ragged people (men and women) struggling to remember the words to hickory-dickory while cooking the laundry and washing the dinner – wait, is that right? – all at the same time.

Our economy is missing out thanks to this avoidable brain-drain.

Fortunately, there is an easy answer – cheaper state-backed childcare. I think this would be the mother (and father) of all Mother’s Day gifts, one from which we would all benefit.

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