Personal Background
• My name is Carmel Cervin and I am starting a PhD at Massey University,
Albany campus.
• My area of interest is injustices in the relationship between paid and unpaid
work in New Zealand and ways these should be addressed.
• Marilyn Waring and Mike O'Brien are my supervisors.
• My undergraduate degree was a BA/ BCom at Auckland Universi ty, in NZ
history and computers.
• Over last summer I worked on a research project, co-ordinated by Mike
O'Brien, looking at Social Service needs and responses in Auckland.
• I have been a member of the consultative group of Catholic Family and
Community Services for the past couple of years.
• I am a young Pakeha women, the oldest of a family of six.
• A strong part of my upbringing has been to question and challenge injustice,
whether through the Springbok protests, anti-nuclear campaigns, or
questioning church structures �md injustices. Thus this motivation for social justice shapes my interests and questioning.
• I am rooted in a belief in community, both as a source of identity and as the
means of challenging injustice. Community is a key source of empowerment for both question and action.
Key Starting Points
1 . Use of Action Research Method
#' Collectively planning, acting and reflecting.
#' Not exclude the use of other methods where and when appropriate.
#' Action research as a way of orienting relevance and use of study towards
social change.
2. Explicit political agenda of clarifying specific structural changes (most likely
in terms of state responses) needed to address injustices arisin& from relationship between paid and unpaid work. That is a focus of identifying specific social injustices and then looking at how these could be addressed, finding appropriate ways of working towards social change.
3. I am open in regard to what specific issue might be chosen. The specific issue must be what is most relevant and appropriate to the group.
4. My hope is to work with more than one group, and for my role to be on the
Appendix 3.3
WAW
WEST AUCKLAND WOME N'S CENTRE
Retirement income and
work
Dear
In 1 994 the West Auckland Women's Centre conducted a Health Research Council funded research project called "feeling Stretched" which examined the impact of economic and social policy changes since 1 990 on the health and well-being of
West Auckland women with dependents under the age of 25.
As an extension of this research, and with the current focus on superannuation, we are interested in exploring with you, as part of a small qualitative project, your ideas on retirement income and issues around unpaid work and how these might impact on you at different stages in your life. We believe it is important to document New Zealand women's experiences as any changes to retirement policy will have a significant impact.
To help us with this task, we are working with Carmel Cervin (see attached profile) who is a PhD student from Massey University, Albany. Her thesis is concerned with injustices in the relationship between paid and unpaid work in New Zealand and ways these should be addressed. She will be the person who, with our support, will make contact and conduct the interviews.
We invite you to be part of this project and whatever input you are able to make
would be a valuable contribution. This is a 2 year project and our initial contact
would be to meet at a mutually agreed place for an interview which will take
approximately one hour. There after contact will made every 3 months or so' by
telephone or in whatever way is most convenient to you. At the completion of t his study, we would like to seek permission for further occasional contact. The tapes from all interviews will be returned to you if you wish or destroyed at the end of the research period.
We have identified a number of key issues to assist with prioritising what you perceive are the main areas for discussion.
• Are you doing paid work? What is your current situation?
• What is the range of your unpaid work? - school committees, sports, caring for older relatives etc.
1 1 1 Mcleod Road Henderson, Auckland Aotearoa (New Zealand)
P.O. Box 69- 1 1 6 Glendene E -mail address:
[email protected] Tel 09-838-638 1 Fax 09-836 - 2 4 70
Appendix 3.3
• How do you envisage your retirement?
• Is there anyone either within or without your family who you see as having a successful retirement?
• Is there an image of retirement which raises negative feelings for you? Do you
know anyone whose retirement has turned out badly for them? • What steps have you taken towards your retirement?
• Given ideal circumstances what steps would you take to secure a satisfactory retirement?
• What would you see as an ideal retirement policy for women?
Part of the Women's Centre's role is as an advocate on issues affecting womcn and
making recommendations to policymakers in government is an integral part of our
work and therefore we would, with your permission, utilise the information for this purpose. The results of this research will form part of Carmel's PhD thesis and all participating women will receive a summary of the research results and conclusions. All information given will be treated as confidential and your consent will be sought with regard to any additional input. You may leave the project at any time and participate to whatever level suits your needs.
We intend to begin this research in February 1 998 and we will contact you closer to that time to arrange a suitable meeting time. Thank you for your participation. Yours sincerely
Appendix 3.4