While discussing the recent screening of a documentary on the Housewife of the Year competition, a woman mentioned with a laugh that her mother would never have qualified. She went on to explain that her home always had a mountain of clean clothes waiting to be ironed. She obviously felt that laundry was an integral part of being a good housewife while dismissing the many other skills her mother no doubt possessed.

It got me thinking about the wide range of skills the women who worked in the home in the 70s and 80s had and how relevant they would be today.

Most women had to give up paid employment when they got married. During their years working at home, they developed skills that would sit nicely on a present-day job application.

How would these women write a CV if applying for a job now? I think the opening paragraph would read something like: I am a resourceful, highly organised individual with 20-plus years of management experience in a busy environment. I have proven abilities in budgeting, project coordination, time management and problem solving. I support agricultural operations, coordinate community events and volunteer across numerous community initiatives.

And what jobs would be open to these women today?

Considering most had to manage the household budget and make sure it stretched to provide for the family they would certainly qualify for a role in finance. Financial planning was a key skill as they had to set a little aside for rainy days, Holy Communions, Christmas etc. I imagine they would have built more than one bicycle shed if they were controlling a budget of €336,000.

Not only did they manage what money they had, many were very resourceful in adding to the budget either in monetary or non-monetary ways.

They may have made clothes for themselves or family members, making sure they lasted for years by adjusting hems, darning socks or ensuring they were passed on to younger siblings.

I imagine they would have built more than one bicycle shed if they were controlling a budget of €336,000.

Many, particularly those along the west coast, knitted Aran sweaters. Today, this would qualify them for a position in the creative industries, in quality control or teaching dressmaking, knitting or other crafts.

Meal-planning was a daily activity that had ties to budgeting as well as nutrition and family well-being. Some grew vegetables or kept hens for eggs or meat for the table. I could see them using these skills in catering, as a dietitian or nutritionist. They would be a hit on today’s social media with reels showing how to use cheap cuts of meat and feed a family on a fiver.

If you were raised in a large family, your mother may well have had great skills in conflict resolution. We didn’t call it that then but stopping siblings fighting over a comic or whose turn it was to milk the cows took great skill.

There are a lot of positions in HR, mediation and customer service that would utilise those skills.

A large number were very involved in community organisations from the ICA to Macra na Feirme. Their skills in event management, logistics and coordination are very transferable to today. I spent years working in community development and, believe me, there are many organisations that would not be solvent without these skills.

Above all else these women were educators. I don’t just mean spending time helping children with homework – they educated family and others on numerous skills. Today, they would be highly paid consultants or lecturers. In particular, I’m thinking of the current focus on the environment. They could easily give lectures and demos on sustainable living, preserving food, seasonal eating, growing your own food, and how to avoid fast fashion.

Depending on the circumstances they were carers, crisis managers, educators, financial planners, logistical coordinators, agricultural workers and event organisers.

Unlike today, they had none of those job titles or the wage and pension that went with them.

Rather than see them as someone who didn’t keep on top of the ironing we should see them as women who ran a complex operation and give them due respect.