feminist cause.Grown
who had given up their careers so that their other halves could take foreign assignments lace wedding dresses , and when, on admiring the Mulberry handbag of one of my husband’s colleague’s, she admitted it was a bonus present.Surprised and intrigued, I asked her to tell me more.She went on to explain that most of her extensive Mulberry collection had only been possible because of the wife bonus she received.I can’t pretend I wasn’t a little shocked.The concept of a gift for being a good little wife seemed to assault all my feminist senses, implying a certain level of sinister financial control.My husband and I had always played a fair game when it came to splitting our finances, having a joint bank account that covered our family everyday needs.Admittedly, I had never felt entirely comfortable at withdrawing money from the account for anything self-indulgent as I had done when I was earning my own money, but it hadn’t been something that had preoccupied me.But the more I heard about the wife bonus , the more it seemed to make sense.As the supports to our husbands, often having to play second fiddle to their careers, putting our own aspirations on the back burner, why shouldn’t we share the spoils, especially come bonus time?But, if I really wanted my husband to reward me for the support I’d given him and the sacrifice I’d made, I decided it should go beyond him handing me a small envelope with a patronising wink, telling me to buy myself something pretty.Instead, it should be a cash settlement, just as I would get if I were an actual employee.If anything, by insisting that my time was just as valuable as my husband’s and by paying me a bonus, my husband could demonstrate in a pecuniary fashion that staying at home with a child is just as important a role as going out to work, and that running a home is a job in itself.Surely these are arguments that true feminists have been making for years?While many men might have scoffed at such a suggestion, my husband was surprisingly amenable.He agreed that he wouldn’t be able to go out and do his job if I didn’t stay at home and do mine.I have taken the primary role in caring for our daughter evening gowns for women , not to mention the cooking, cleaning and everything else that staying on top of things at home entails.He works long hours in a stressful environment, and is often away.RelatedDear Prudence: My future mother-in-law wants to wear her wedding dress at my nuptialsDear Prudence: Help!starting when he was 16Obviously we could share the load, but having worked long hours myself, I know the last thing you want to do when you get home late from work is laundry.So we sat down and negotiated an agreement.If the company that my husband works for has had a good year and compensated him accordingly, he would pass the benefit down to me.While the bulk of his bonus should be put aside for serious things such as school fees or a future property, we also agreed that, after tax, we each take 20 per cent of his bonus, ensuring that we both have an opportunity to reward ourselves for a year of hard work.I prefer to keep the precise amount private, but it is certainly enough to be able to treat myself.As in most situations, there are always extremes.We don’t have a prenuptial agreement, and there’s nothing in writing outlining tasks I have to perform.The closest I’ve come to not receiving a wife bonus was the time he told me once to manage my expectations because the company hadn’t had such a good year.Ultimately, we see ourselves as a joint venture, and this is just an extension of that.We have since moved from Australia to Copenhagen, and although I’m far from ashamed of the arrangement we have, it’s not something I’ve chosen to share with people until now.I wouldn’t boast about a bonus I received at work, and this is no different.But since the idea of a wife bonus has been discussed so widely, I thought it was important to show how it extends beyond the wives of Park Avenue.I’ve been disappointed by the condemnation I’ve received from other women, who feel that I’m betraying the feminist causeHowever, I’ve been disappointed by the condemnation I’ve received from other women, who feel that I’m betraying the feminist cause.Grown women asked me seriously a-line evening gowns , nodding and winking lewdly like naughty little schoolboys, whether there was anything that I had to do to secure my bonus, the assumption being that the sacrifices a stay-at-home mum makes daily for monetary compensation is on the level of prostitution.which perhaps should now be known as partnership premium the bonus is in no way linked to how I’ve performed in the bedroom or anywhere else.To my mind, the role of a stay-at-home mum who has chosen to leave the workplace to care for her child is an entirely different debate, which merits its own discussion.By not working, I’m financially dependent on my husband, regardless of whether I accept a wife bonus.If anything, by receiving a bonus, I am finally being recognized as my husband’s true equal.TORONTO Saks Fifth Avenue hasn’t come to Canada yet, but at its future setting inside Hudson’s Bay Co.s storied Toronto flagship building on Queen Street, signs of its arrival later this year are abundant.On a recent weekday, customers and staff at makeup kiosks murmured about the luxury retailer while they rouged their cheeks beside floor-to-ceiling plastic sheeting that bisected the first floor, where the Bay and Saks will divide into two separate stores connected by interior entrances.It’s the kind of buzz that excites Liz Rodbell, president of Hudson’s Bay department store group, as she details the historic 750,000 square-foot store’s extensive summer revamp.well before rival Nordstrom opens in the space a block north in the fall of 2016.The main entrance will open to a shared lobby, where customers can enter either Hudson’s Bay to the left or Saks to the right.The vision is, we are two anchors of the Eaton Centre Mall, and that is how we believe the customer will experience it and that is how it is bein.