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WHAT'S NEW
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Adrienne Clarkson's wishes for Canadian women
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As Homemakers celebrates its 40th anniversary, Canada's 26th Governor General reveals her hopes for women in the next 40 years.
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By Carlye Malchuk
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Q: What do you see as the role of Canadian women in the 21st century?
A: I think women should lead the way now, in terms of trying to get better systems going for their own aspirations of life. When I say we live in a man's world -- if a woman wants to get ahead, she's got to spend, from the time she's in university, another 12 or 14 years establishing herself as a doctor, a lawyer, a university professor, a tax accountant, in order to get above a certain level. I think a lot of women want to be able to stay at home with their children at least for the first few years of their lives.
There are all sorts of things that tear women apart. They cannot behave just like men, and the other thing that worries me is that they cannot behave just like men because the biology is different. A doctor was telling me that everything has changed for women, but their biology has not changed; and women's bodies react best when they have children between the ages of 18 and about 28 -- and certainly we are putting that off. It's very difficult for women; we must never underestimate that. Yes, we've made a lot of progress, yes, women can seem to have it all, but it causes them a lot of sacrifice to their psyches and to their own selves -- and that's something that will have to be worked through.
Q: As Homemakers celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, what are your hopes and wishes for Canadian women in the next 40 years?
A: I would like to see a complete shift in the way in which we look at work; so that women who work can be accommodated to fulfil their needs to have children.
I'd like to see more things like job sharing, position sharing, and the ability of women to stay at home with their young children.
Right now I think the whole situation is made for men and women have very well accommodated themselves to it...but there's not a single woman I know, no matter how successful, that didn't wish they could be at home with their child until he/she goes to kindergarten.
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