Realist, I presume the analogy of the CEO as the driver of a car is a joke? And "the real success comes from the steely, innovative nature of the CEO"? Too funny.

The average Australian CEO runs over the pedestrians, sacks half the car's components and stacks the car after running all the red lights. The car owner then has to pay the driver off to get rid of him, takes the car to the crash repairer (in an overseas workshop) and employs a new driver in the hope that he won't stack the car again. The outplaced CEO begrudgingly accepts his multimillion dollar payout and says that it is all the government's fault for having too many red lights getting in the way of a free run to the bank.

Alison Wolf says three things are being detroyed as women advance:
1. The death of sisterhood.
2. The erosion of female altruism.
3. The impact of employment change on childbearing.

Women are becoming more like men, and the more like men they become the more they 'advance' in the men's world of work.
Is that something to be proud of in making the world all one gender.
The average married couple once had sex about three times a week and the result was about three children.
Now it is down to about 1.8 times a week, also resulting in about 1.8 children to make a family.
It seems both men and women and the family are going backwards as money becomes the goal instead of altruistic values.

Eledna. Why assume it is sombody elses reasonsibily.
Unless ypou can afford them dont have kids.
Why do you expect others to pay for you having kids or the people in Africa or anywhere else.
We send aid and they have more and more kids for us to feed or starve.Then people like you blame us!. Give it a rest.
Ever heard of birth control and living up to ones own reasonsibilty.

Why on earth should the tax payer pay for any child care for god sake.
It really bugs me when people go on tV complaining that John Howard does not give them enough to mind THEIR kids. Thats a personal reasonsibilty.
That is why good old fashion marraige and saving up for a house together BEFORE the kids worked in years gone by. We have a useless lazy unmarried mother in our suburb who gets child care because they rekon she must have a break. 5 kids 5 dads,and on top of that we pay child care.
Speaking of breaks its time the tax payers refused their hard earned money was spent on this waiste.

Some people studied and worked two three and four jobs and did not have kids irresposibly until they could afford them. They worked part time to pay for their own taff courses.

AND if you cant afford kids dont have them.
That goes for africa too.[ Actually especially Africa

Wendy,

children are both a asset to the individual family as well as our society. I think the point of the article was that in Western circles we are underinvesting in living infrastructure and those elements that support it.

If you think of children on an 'afford only basis' you will see why the government supports even the 'dubious' lifestyle options of Mrs Fivehusbands - demographic & economic survival means children need to be born & supported, and if rational people such as yourself have figured out that they don't want their lifestyle compromised by expensive, time consuming (and numerous children) then somebody needs to have children.

Telling Africans and others that they can't have children is funny when we are seeing European countries heading into social & genetic oblivion. Eurabia is perhaps only 2 to 3 generations away.

Children are best brought up in stable families, and this is not helped by mothers & fathers competing for the same jobs and neglecting or farming off children to the ABC millionaire factory childcare centre. Nor is it helped by accumulating debt on degrees that are of dubious worth or practicality - this is not a dig at the Arts, just that one can as easily study philosophy or any science from books at home, and the piece of paper is merely recognition of being able to comply with contemporary preocupations with 'paper qualifications, rather than talent or hands on work.

Finally, the stats provided by the former contributor about sex per week & children is highly suspect. As a father of six, I can assure you that the suggested ratio does not come anywhere close to reality!

Reality Check you are too kind...I think Wendy needs to spend some time with the sole parent in her neighbourhood- perhaps then she would appreciate the need for 'a break' or better still attend school with some local children (some of whom may be African) and learn how to spell!

Kate and RC.
I dont know why you think you know what we do up here but spending time with single mums is certainly not going to do anything to change my mind as I already do.

Just yesterday I actually pointed out to a young lady who simply loves to come around here that as shes not working maybe she should spend at least one day a week with her three children instead of putting them into child care.
She pointed out that at least she has them weekends which is more than the other single mother I mentioned did.
Reality is that we the tax payers pay a fortune to support these bludgers and to top it off we pay again for them to put these kids in child care.
Thats right these women dont work and also get child care leaving no places for the ones who do want to work.
By average women using themeslves as breeding machines for financial support come from the uneducated. most times those kids are the ones who grown up to steal the cars and follow a life of crime so I think its you that need to get real.
Those kids are no help to soceity and the circle continues .
Oh and by the way Suz we run a international laungage colledge and work on many progects to assist lots of people in many ways.
The overall is something that you sound like you would not even begin to understand. Australia has the highest numbers of unmarried mothers and most having several kids to several dads. That is nothing to be proud of and its the poor little kids who start out with these examples in life who suffer. Thats real not your stupid personal attack on myself you idiot.