matter but we were struck by the relevance of a speech in the Senate on Wednesday.

Independent Senator Norma Astwood was speaking about the fiftieth anniversary of Bermudian women winning the right to vote which occurs in May. Over the years Senator Astwood has become the voice of reason in the Senate, calm, constructive, relevant and well informed. In herself she is one of the best reasons to be found in Bermuda of the importance of women in high office.

Yet the realities of Bermuda today caused Senator Astwood to point out to the Senate some startling facts which apply to Bermuda.

What should upset Bermuda most is the need for Sen. Astwood to introduce the following motion: "That the Senate take note of the need for Parliament to integrate the perspective of women into mainstream political issues.'' The problem, of course, is that over the years Bermuda, like some large countries, has had a few women in important political positions and that has masked the fact that there were few women overall in high office. To their credit, people like Gloria McPhee, Lois Browne Evans, Jennifer Smith and Ann Cartwright DeCouto have or have had major roles in Bermudian politics, but they have not had many sisters on the other benches.

Senator Astwood pointed out that in Bermuda there are nine women in the Parliamentary group, nine of 40 Members of the House and 11 Senators. Some of those are newsly elected and, like Pamela Gordon, seem destined for big things, but it is clearly not enough. Just over 50 percent of Bermuda's population is made up of women.

That is the political representation, despite the fact that 48 percent of the work force outside the home are women and 53 percent of all jobs in professional and technical occupations are filled by women. Yet Bermuda's women are paid substantially less than its men, averaging $22,400 per year compared to a male average of $31,500 per year. The reason is that there are few women in high positions in Bermuda's business world. Some of this indicates a reluctance on the part of women to accept promotion because the damands of big jobs impinge on their care of their children.

Senator Astwood said: "Women could bring Bermuda to a standstill, by not turning up for work or not looking after the children.

"My aim in bringing this motion is to encourage women to fulfill their aims and to give emphatic and positive recognition to those women who choose to work outside the home.''