Nixon, Eisenhower & Cox on Women in politics and Council of Economic Advisors

3:43:05Well, the letters I had better see, because I would like to add some personal notes on each one of them, see?
3:43:08So that the letters can be published during the magazine.
3:43:12Would you have those letters because they, you know, you said they had them prepared or whatever they were going, go down, you know, it's a funny thing to look at, you know.
3:43:18Well, that's fine.
3:43:23Or if you have copies of it.
3:43:24I'll tell you what, I'll, you go ahead.
3:43:27I'll update the, some 9% and just some random thoughts on what I particularly regarded on a very, on a personal note that you included in the letter, you see.
3:43:35And what do you reckon with those notes in it?
3:43:40Very nice.
3:43:42I had a little trip home in Africa, and to convince them to go down there, it would be a bigger play than Rockford, but boy, I think it was going to be a great trip.
3:43:51It was there, but it was going to be so bad.
3:43:54Preparation for it.
3:43:55It was decent.
3:43:55It was going along with it.
3:43:57It was a good person.
3:43:59Yes, sir, the African man is very good.
3:44:01You know, I find that he's... Henry doesn't like him because he's pro-African, but God damn it, he's a decent man.
3:44:08No, he's a good man, sir.
3:44:09I mean, I'm just kidding.
3:44:10Oh, all right, fine.
3:44:11Did he go in?
3:44:12He used to go, and... Well, that's fine, that's fine.
3:44:15Well, if Newsom's gone, she's a good shape.
3:44:18Okay, well, first of all, I will hold you harder if you've got any reservations.
3:44:26No, sir.
3:48:54I wanted to ask you about the discussion about women.
3:48:59What do you think we ought to do about women to build up our interest in women?
3:49:09We have an awful lot of women appointed to very good ones.
3:49:13I'm even considering now a woman economist to be appointed to the Council of Economic Advisors, which would be the first time in history.
3:49:20That would be terrific.
3:49:22But getting back to your other question, what should we do with the campaign?
3:49:27I told you, Taylor, you talked about a talk show about...
3:49:33The people she was with, she also mentioned that women, in most of the working campaigns, but the work that they do do is, you know, routine work, and they're lifting envelopes, saying God is important, things like that, and they're not really given any leadership.
3:49:55participation role in campaigns.
3:50:03So if you just make a woman who's appointed into a leadership role, who is that woman in a leadership role in a campaign?
3:50:13Not just women, just really like...
3:50:17have two co-chairmen or something.
3:50:20Well, they're going to do that in most places, but I don't see that it's done in every state.
3:50:24And if you put the woman, have a woman that's...
3:50:26But only somebody qualified.
3:50:28Articulate.
3:50:28Articulate.
3:50:28It can go on TV.
3:50:29Yes.
3:50:29I don't think you should do anything.
3:50:31I don't think you need to do anything else with women, though.
3:50:34I mean, in the sense that we're getting across the mess around what she's doing.
3:50:39And I think other than that, and my question is... What I am concerned about is
3:50:46I really think that the more fundamental point is this country needs to find an outlet for women.
3:50:51The point, you know, that you make here, we educate women as well as men.
3:50:54Now, what the hell are they going to do?
3:50:57Many of them will, of course, of the, most of them, they'll have to be married with homemakers and the rest, but that takes half their time at most.
3:51:06Now, what are they going to do with the other half of their time?
3:51:08They'll go to the country club and play great to get drunk, or
3:51:13They'll learn to play golf, or they'll sit around at home, or they'll mope, or they'll gossip, or so forth.
3:51:19I think women, there's a tremendous asset here.
3:51:22That's why the volunteer thing appeals to me.
3:51:25Go ahead, Julie.
3:51:27Volunteer jobs are not really meaningful, because they're usually on a part-time basis.
3:51:33They aren't paid, and they don't take real skills.
3:51:37No, no, no.
3:51:38I'm a volunteer, not a campaigner.
3:51:40But volunteer in terms of helping the retired.
3:51:44It sounds great and it is great, but the thing you have to understand about people then,
3:51:53Women as well as men, it's just a basic established now.
3:51:57What does everyone want in life but recognition for it, right?
3:52:00Now, women might work, or might have work, just as hard as men, in the home.
3:52:04You know, a man goes out and has a job away from home, a woman has a job in the home.
3:52:09Maybe they work an equal amount of hours a day at their job.
3:52:12But men are going to take a remuneration, a monetary remuneration.
3:52:18They can't.
3:52:19But you know what I think?
3:52:20People don't get respect for work unless they're paid.
3:52:22Because we live in a society that is basically materialistic.
3:52:25And what does it take to have material things but money?
3:52:27So money is the key to respect and recognition.
3:52:29If you don't have money, you don't have as much respect and recognition.
3:52:34Even though you're working just as hard, and even what you're doing, at least it's important to what someone else is doing in that room, making money.
3:52:45That's my point.
3:52:46It's too bad.
3:52:47We just want to get away with it.
3:52:49But what I was going to say, too, is that I think the solution, I really do, is to have more half-day jobs.
3:52:57We should create these jobs.
3:53:01And pay people.
3:53:03Right, what I mean is, we should have a system, there should be more opportunities like that in our country so that women can half the day work and the other half of the day be at home.
3:53:12You know, another thing, for example, even here in the White House, here in the White House you can have day jobs, take the mail room.
3:53:19Women can come over and write letters with me.
3:53:22Yes, but all across the country, you see, and women can rotate, some who work in the afternoon and some who work in the morning, and then the schools for their kids will be worked out that way.
3:53:32You know what I mean?
3:53:33In other words, a woman doesn't mind leaving her child in a nursery for half a day, because it means she spends the time she gives her child for the rest of the day is good quality time, because she feels that she's done enough, and so she comes home and she devotes more time and effort to the kid in the time she's gone.
3:53:48My question is this.
3:53:49I don't know if it makes any sense or not, but are there enough dogs to go around with an obtained dog?
3:53:59Yes.
3:53:59There really are.
3:54:01We have unemployment, and you can't have an influx of workers.
3:54:04You have to give them.
3:54:06You can't have that many.
3:54:07The only volunteerism could be started in the lives of people who are doing something very, very serious.
3:54:16Except for the fact that you seem to forget that very few people can afford to do their job.
3:54:25That's why I had an interview with Fran Littlemore, and I was saying how great I thought the volunteerism was and all that, and she was saying, yes, but do you realize that most people can't afford to volunteer?
3:54:35They're talking about what are we supposed to do if we can't afford to do that?
3:54:39The Irish family is sitting there having a way.
3:54:41What does she mean?
3:54:42She can't afford it in terms?
3:54:44She can't afford it in terms?
3:54:46No.
3:54:48Correct.
3:54:50She's going to give up time.
3:54:52Money is the key.
3:54:53But I can't get a job.
3:54:54Money is the key to a lot of these things.
3:54:58But all I'm saying is it seems to me that more half-day jobs could be created and the other half could be, and women, you know, on the road, you know, have a working afternoon, have a good morning.
3:55:15No, I don't believe that.
3:55:18It is good if they're qualified.
3:55:21Yeah, right, I think it's good.
3:55:23It's a hard thing, we just couldn't quite make it this far.
3:55:27That's very understandable.
3:55:30Huh?
3:55:31It's very understandable.
3:55:33There really wasn't one that was quite ready.
3:55:37We cried like hell, and we were pointing from the lower levels, and if I say it this constantly, the economic advisors.
3:55:41You see, that's a powerful group, there are only three men, and they advised President Obama, there's Herb Stein,
3:55:51and Ezra Solomon now on the crack and through thing, so he did one big, you know, George Shultz was a cool one.
3:55:58He got one out then, when unfortunately she's been out stacking internationally for a long time.
3:56:01Who's this?
3:56:02Our band's friend, Mary Roach?
3:56:03Mary Roach, and she's really cool.
3:56:05Cool.
3:56:05That was too much.
3:56:08Well, what I mean is, she's 65 and so forth, and this is a tough grind.

Nixon, Eisenhower & Cox on Women in politics and Council of Economic Advisors

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on December 26, 1971

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