Thoughts we had consisted of a strong feeling that Motherhood is undervalued. Devalued. And work is seen as more important than nurturing children.
Equality isn't equal.
Women have to be the Mother and the breadwinner. A sense of being just a Mother, shame attached to not working. Or working in a traditional job or field.

The first solution was:
A rich and supportive partner who pulls in a lot of money.

This seems like part of the problem. Being the generation of the messy middle, we arent creating our own income steams from our art.

Dame Helena Louise Morrisey was mentioned as a woman who has made it in a man's world and her husband is at home with the kids.
We discussed patriarchy and what a matricarly would look like. She's also written a book about how things would work better.

We discussed Motherhood as a job, how much would that be an hour?
No one was brave enough to put a figure on it and then...
Examples of childcare covering the cost of a job and therefore technically working for free.
Working for the love of it.
Working to keep your hand in.
Successfully creating and producing a product but not being financially successful.
Financial suicide.
Doing it to keep up our skills.
Also we discussed transferable skills of motherhood.
Motherhood focusing our minds more.

We also need to take responsibility for our own value.
How do we do that? Raising self esteem, raising standards, asking for more. Instead of making do, using our creative skills in making money go further.

We don't factor in down time.
Research.
Thinking time
That gestational period of an idea forming.
Some mentioned that being a mother added to their art and productivity.
Also factoring in experience and training.

If Motherhood was ticketed for each job.
Brush teeth tick
Read a book tick
Cook breakfast tick
Escort to school tick
Wipe nose tick
How much would that be?
How many tickets?
How much is each ticket?
We didn't come up with a figure

We talked about mumprenures who create a legacy from home and how the world is going to change.

We talked about Sponsorship.
Arts funding.

We discussed automation and the harth,
Stephen Fry has written a book about the Greeks which mentions the harth.
Having space to tell stories, connect to one another and that jobs will change but the creative mind will be of enormous value as it can't be automated.
We can't see our own value.
We've undersold ourselves and our art. Our creativity and skills.

We talked about the first job share in the west end.
Great it's happening.

Talked about, lack of common sense and how everything needs to be qualified and targeted and measured and ticketed and evaluated and box ticked.
Things need proof, ie singing in a choir improves mental health.
Arts as therapy being subscribed for various illnesses.
Everything is science backed.

Logical, proof filled Male energy as apposed to female intuition being championed.

We then ended with a brilliant practical solution from personal experience too.

Cut back, on costs they had a change in circumstances and the father wasn't working so for the mother to continue the moved to a cheaper area outside of London, reduced cost looking for their VILLAGE. So that the children have a support network. Family were not close by, and have a life style change. Reduce materialistic things that they don't need and go back to basics.

And have more time together.
Which seems like the perfect place to conclude a question about money and value.

Everyone's values will be slightly different, different standards. But there must be a base level, that we all should want for our children. It starts with ourselves and its also a bigger question in society that we need to deal with.


I think we need to ask for more.
Easy to say
Difficult to do.

So my challenge now, is to ask for more of myself.
And start asking....
I'll let you know how I get one.
It's a bit scary.