3.3. Work and the Family

25. As both a right and a duty,²⁹ work expresses and fulfills the dignity of human beings. It demonstrates their ability to dominate the world around them; it contributes to the development of their personality,³⁰ and makes the growth of civilization possible. The whole of society and the organizations and policies of the States must generate conditions that will lead to making it possible for everyone to work. We cannot forget that "work constitutes a foundation for the formation of family life, which is a natural right and something that man is called to. These two spheres of values—one linked to work and the other consequent on the family nature of human life—must be properly united and must properly permeate each other. In a way, work is a condition for making it possible to found a family, since the family requires the means of subsistence which man normally gains through work".³¹

26. The specific contribution that a father and a mother offer through their work to society should be recognized. What a mother contributes to the family and through it to society deserves greater attention; moreover, this has attracted the attention of some of the most distinguished thinkers of our times. This specifically maternal contribution can be seen more obviously in the area of up-bringing, health, education, religious formation and all the activities that affect the well being of the family and its members. John Paul II has stressed the importance of this contribution many times.³² Naturally, emphasis on the mother's contribution should not overshadow the importance of the father's specific contribution because their contributions are complementary.

27. Concretely, in a family, a man and a woman complement one another's work and cooperate with one another for the full realization of their conjugal life and the upbringing and well being of their children. Keeping in mind that motherhood—together with fatherhood—is part of the most excellent gift from the Creator to humankind, namely, the transmission of life, the organization of society and the laws of the States should make it possible for the structure and the remuneration of work to aid women in fulfilling their vocation as mothers, and in the gestation and up-bringing of their children.³³