Recognition of women's work in the home
While speaking about employment in reference to the family, it is
appropriate to emphasize how important and burdensome is the work
women do within the family unit: that work should be acknowledged
and deeply appreciated. The toil of a woman who, having given birth
to a child, nourishes and cares for that child and devotes herself
to its upbringing, particularly in the early years, is so great as
to be comparable to any professional work. This ought to be clearly
stated and upheld, no less than any other labor right. Motherhood,
because of all the hard work it entails, should be recognized as
given the right to financial benefits at least equal to those of
other kinds of work undertaken in order to support the family
during such a delicate phase of its life.
- From Pope John Paul II's Letter to Families, n.34-37.