Gender Equality

Question 1

Points of agreement for gender equality

Answer 1

All feminists fundamentally agree that gender equality is essential for a just society and that women should have the same rights, opportunities and freedoms as men. This foregrounded in their shared rejection of essentialism- both men and women are nurtured and conditioned to their state of being and place in society rather than their biological sex assigning them to it. While the means to achieve gender equality varies between the strands of feminism as they differ to which source triggers gender inequality, their overall commitment to equality underpins feminism’s unifying goal of dismantling structural barriers that limit women’s potential, their means to achieve it.

Question 2

Liberal feminists

Answer 2

This is more profoundly reinforced by liberal feminists who argue that equality should be pursued through legal and political reform to ensure that women have the same rights as men under the law. They, in particular, emphasise and advocate for foundational equality and assert that policies such as equal pay and increased female representation in politics and business.

Mary Wollstonecraft, a pioneering liberal feminist, reiterated the underlying point that gender inequality is not a result of natural differences, but of social and legal restrictions that have prevented women from reaching their full potential

Question 3

Social feminists

Answer 3

Following a likewise narrative, social feminists agree that gender equality is crucial and should be strived for via legal reforms, but argue that is cannot be completely achieved without addressing economic inequality. This stems from their belief that capitalism inherently exploits women, as it relies on their unpaid domestic labour and relegates them to low-paying jobs.

Capitalism cemented women’s economic dependence on men, making true gender equality impossible without overthrowing capitalism. They argue that this can be brought about via state intervention, such as welfare policies, subsidised childcare and workplace protections to reduce gendered economic disparities.

Question 4

Radical feminists

Answer 4

Radical feminists argue that gender equality cannot be achieved by working within existing institutions as patriarchy is deeply embedded, thus aligning a similar narrative as social feminists and arguing that legal reforms are insufficient to achieve an outcome of total gender equality and that a mass reimagining and restructuring of both economic and political systems could bring about the desired ends- gender equality.

Kate Millett, in sexual politics, contended that patriarchy systematically oppresses women by defining them as subordinate to men through culture, family structures and even sexual relationships. Unlike liberal feminists who seek gradual reform, radical feminists argue that achieving true equality requires drastic measures such as dismantling patriarchal structures that perpetuate gender inequalities

Question 5

Post modern feminists

Answer 5

They expand on this critique, arguing that gender equality cannot be understood or even tackled in a one size fits all approach because varying intersections of race, class and gender can in practice procure different forms of oppression.

Bell Hooks, in Feminist Theory: From Margin to Centre, argued that mainstream feminism historically focused on white, middle-class women, failing to address the unique struggles faced by black and working class women. Thus necessitating a more nuanced and unique approach to advancing gender equality

Question 6

Conclusion

Answer 6

Despite their different approaches to achieve gender equality and their diversions as to where gender inequality spawns from, all strands of feminism fundamentally share the conviction that gender equality is essential and that systemic change is necessary, albeit in varying forms, to remove barriers that prevent women form achieving full autonomy and equality