There is a revolution under way. You could call it “fifth-wave feminism”.

It began before the child sexual abuse scandal, which continues to rock centre-based childcare. But as a result of the emotional wave of disgust and horror that each new revelation has brought, the dam has broken sooner than it might have. Women want to take back their lives. To stop co-operating with a society that treats us like eunuchs, valuing only half of what we do.

“I, like many mothers, knew in my gut – my womb, perhaps – that the baby should not be far from me.”Credit: Getty Images

The exciting thing about this revolution is that it is not just about self-actualisation, but social actualisation. It’s about making room for men to be fathers as much as for women to be mothers. It challenges the archaic workplace, which assumes people stop being parents as soon as they cross the office threshold. The revolution demands that productivity be valued over presenteeism. That hours spent dawdling around an office no longer count the same as hours spent delivering quality work. That we finally measure outcomes instead of inputs.

It insists that we respect the work that parents do. Because, as any parent knows, raising a child is an unparalleled joy, but also a slog. Providing a stable home environment is hard work and something to boast about.

The revolution was under way before the allegations against Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown came to light.

At the beginning of this year, I was sent a manuscript by Virginia Tapscott, a mother of four and freelance writer. She and........

© Brisbane Times