Real choice comes with real equality

The underlying problem is that society still poses intractable problems for working mothers. Child-care places are scarce, and their quality is inconsistent. Workplaces continue to disadvantage women (and men) who take on carer responsibilities. In Australia, we are still waiting for the long-promised maternity leave scheme to become a reality. Under such circumstances it is unsurprising that many women end up wanting to work less, or not at all.

But perhaps the greatest danger in Basham's argument is its short-sightedness. Women who opt out of the workforce for a long time face difficulties in returning, running a real risk of becoming unemployable. Older women who have taken on care roles in their life, particularly at the expense of paid work, have a significantly higher risk of ending up in poverty. And while a high-earning husband might appear to be an insurance policy against this outcome, divorce, a partner's death, illness or even redundancy can put an end to such grand plans.

Australian women's superannuation contributions are already perilously low compared with men's, and Basham's prescription for a happier life would only exacerbate this problem. But her argument that women would benefit from subsuming their professional identity in that of their husbands is also deeply insulting to a generation of women who worked hard to establish themselves in the public and professional domains once reserved for men.

Only when we have real equality of opportunity for all women, including mothers, can we start talking meaningfully about women's choices and what they really want.