Letter: For eligible, read employed

I read with interest your article "Do men need jobs more than women?" (Real Life, 16 November), and discovered that there are far more unemployed men than unemployed women. I then read your article about women paying thousands of pounds for artificial insemination ("So you want a baby but there's no sign of Mr Right", Real Life). I then looked at the voice personals and noticed many women were seeking men who were "professional" or "solvent". It appears that when it comes to love, women still expect men to pay the expenses.

As long as the e in "eligible bachelor" stands for "employed" it appears that men do need jobs more than women. However, an unemployed husband is a far cheaper option than pounds 20,000 on donor insemination treatment, not to mention fees for carers.Among my own friends and family, at least, men spend a lot of time on child care - even when they are working full-time.

F Titterton

Edinburgh