When will the press and politicians stop making single mothers a scapegoat for all society’s ills, asks Susannah Hickling. Why don’t they appreciate what a great job we do?

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single mums!

“How did you manage for childcare in the holidays?”

I asked a fellow single mum in the school playground. “My sister took him, thank God,” she replied, before

adding. “But then I got made redundant.” With no financial support from her son’s father, surely

this was a disaster. But Marise didn’t see it that way. “I’m already looking for something else. Job hunting’s

like a full-time job—I spend all day contacting the agen- cies, revamping my CV, searching the web. I’m sure I’ll get something soon.” I had my doubts. Four other female friends had been

made redundant and, a year later, only one had found employment. The others—whose husbands worked—said they’d had it up to here with the stress of combining a career with children. They were looking half-heartedly and getting nowhere. But two weeks later, Marise made a beeline for me in

the playground. “I’ve got a new job,” she enthused. “A much better one, too. I start on Monday.” She strode off to make sure her son had one of the

places at the after-school club. And recently, in spite of her work commitments (she also runs a record label in

“You can’t win when you’re a

single mother”: Susannah with

her six-year-old son Joshua

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