Liberal_Feminism

The Oxford dictionary defines feminism as “the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.” Feminist theories try to examine women’s social roles and life experiences, also providing a critique for social relationships, along with analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of women’s rights, interest and issues. This paper will be looking at the theory of liberal feminism, challenging its achievements and rate of change in the home, workplace, and politics. The liberal feminist tradition like other theories of feminism has always asserted the value of women as a human being equal to a man’s value. This theory demand’s various forms of public and private recognition including respect for women’s freedoms and more recently demanded an end to de facto discrimination on the basis of sex. Liberal feminism is characterized by an individualistic emphasis on equality. According to this philosophy, society itself does not need a major overhaul, but rather laws need to be changed and opportunities have to be opened up to allow women to become equals in society. They aim for gradual change in political, economic and social realms. Liberal feminisms main goal is the creation of equal opportunities mainly in the area of work and education. It has contributed to considerable social change, in relation to employment opportunities and social policy. Furthermore the theory states that Inequality stems from unequal participation in spheres outside of the family, primarily education and paid labor force, however this participation is increasing. Women have always been involved in the public labor force in Canada. Dating back to when people did not work to earn wages but to sustain their own and their family’s existence. They hunted, collected and grew products. Women also helped with trapping animals for fur and meat, they prepared the meat and helped prepare the fur for trade. All individuals in the family also helped with agriculture. In addition women still fulfilled their traditional duties of birthing and fulfilling the maternal role. They received no merit for their economic contribution. Urbanization changed the economy to wage earning. In this economy the male was considered the head of the house hold and the primary bread winner. Women were mainly attending to the family. However, in 1871 women and children made up 42 percent of the industrial workforce in Montreal. There was also some work women did from home. By the turn of the 20th century there were many new job opportunities created for women, such as clerical, secretary, typist and sales positions. The state also took responsibility for expanding education and healthcare, and in turn, women were found working as teachers and nurses because the sector was growin. The main determinant for this was because women were willing to work for very low wages. In 1911 the average weekly income for a male was $10.55 and for a female was between $4-$6. Women also worked longer hours than men. Women were not considered to be a major part of the labor force, considering that men were thought to be the bread winners of the family and the women’s income was considered secondary. WW1 and WW2 had an enormous impact on women’s employment. It was evident that women were more than capable and were willing to work for pay. As soon as the first world war was over women were dismissed from their position and were expected to go back to the home. The Second World War had more of an impact on women’s employment patterns. More women were employed; more married women were working and working in nontraditional roles. Women found a new confidence being workers, the government and employers made it clear that the women were contributing to the war efforts. Unfortunately with the end of the war most the women were laid off once again, however still working and looking for jobs. Later in the century the feminists did have some significant achievements. Acts like The Female Employees Fair Remuneration, and Female Employees Equal Pay guaranteed that females would get equal pay for equal work, provisions were also made to Canada’s Labor code. Liberal feminists would definitely consider this an achievement because they had laws changed but waited for this gradual change. Canadian government passed the Employment Equity Act 1986 which places an obligation on federal employers to implement employment equity (affirmative action) by proactive means. All these achievements are still subject to some criticism, because women are Still facing income gaps, occupational segregation and invisible barriers. The term “glass ceiling” refers to a concept in which qualified women are denied the opportunity to advance into management level positions regardless of their accomplishments and merits. The glass ceiling is comprised of artificial barriers often exhibited in day to day practices, management and employee attitudes, and internal systems that operate to the career disadvantage of women. Women seem to progress more slowly than men experiencing repeated tests and challenges. The Journal of compilation did a study on a French utility company that had 30000 employees. It was found that women ages 35 and under accounted for forty four percent of manager roles women over the age of 45 assumed only fifteen percent of those positions. Looking at senior level management position women were almost non-existent making up only ten percent of senior management. It was stated in a article done by the Canadian Public Policy and UofT it was stated that even in 1997 women’s average income was only 72.5 percent of men’s, that wage difference is expected to decrease to 21.4% in 2031. Taking a liberal feminist stance, feminist did have an impact on the area of work, through changes to the Canadian legal system and codes, however these achievements can clearly be challenged. Although there are laws in place, women are still facing discrimination in the work place, unequal pay and the phenomenon of the glass ceiling. therefore these achievements deserve little merit. If liberal feminists took slightly more of a radical approach and didn’t wait for gradual change but demanded it, women would still not be facing these barriers. Feminists believe that women are an exploited class, for instance the 'house wife' role is created patriarchy and is geared to the service of men and their interests. Even in this age, many children consider their mother to be the one who cooks, cleans, and cares for the children, leaving the father to be the “bread winner”. Changing traditional gender roles seems to be difficult not because woman or men don’t have the necessary skills for other one’s tasks but because each sex is expected to take on a gender role from when they are young. We have from the time of our birth been guided towards roles designated for our particular sexes by parents, teachers, our peers, and the media. Women are expected to learn from an early age how to be a good housewife and a mother, while men are expected to be masculine also that they are to be the breadwinners of the family. This idea of the women’s place being in the home still exists today’s in some forms. I will discuss some of the achievements that the liberal feminists are pleased with, following that I will be addressing some barriers that still stand in the way of women. First Wave Feminists focused their struggles primarily on gaining legal rights such as the right to vote (women’s suffrage) and property rights. Second Wave Feminists focused on a broad range of issues in the1960’s, 70’s and early 80’s, rape, domestic violence, and sexism in the media, and reproductive choice. The fight for reproductive choice included a fight to have information about, and access to, birth control as well as the struggle to decriminalize abortion. I believe it was in the first and second wave that women gained much of their strength, and brought some change to how women are viewed today in the household. The person’s case and property act was definitely an asset for women. Unfortunately these legal changes have not made a major difference in how women are viewed in the household. Women are certainly entering the workforce with increasing numbers; however they are still stuck in their gender roles in the home. Women are still working a double day, their decision about working or going back to work is influenced largely because they have children or are married. Many women work a double shift that means they work a job outside the home and their second shift starts when they enter the home. Home duties entail cleaning, cooking caring for any children, counselling, shopping and financial management. Women spent 78% more time than men engaging in unpaid housework. Canadian spent 25 billion hours on unpaid work, and again women performed most of this work. It is clear that even though women are considered equal to men we are not treated equally. Women are still doing more work than men, and sticking to their tradition roles. All these achievements have very little impact on the condition of women in today’s world. I feel the liberal feminists need to push more for social equality instead of waiting for gradual change. The main reason for this is, even though women are working so hard, their work is not recognized or seen as being productive, because women’s performance in the home does not make any profit, therefore is not given any merit. It is very clear that men do not contribute their time in the house hold as much as women do. This is exactly why liberal feminist have not achieved true equality. Social class, status, and power are predetermined by one’s gender. Within today’s patriarchal society, men simply possess greater power than women, and have more access to valued social groups. Patriarchal thought produces male dominance, and authority within multiple areas, including politics. Women compromise over fifty percent of Canada’s population, yet women fail to represent the country through government. Women only hold twenty one percent of the seats in the House of Commons and thirty five percent of the senate seats. There are many reasons as to why women do not reflect their population with their participation in the government. Women face barriers like sex-stereotyping, where certain cultural stereotypes prevent people for voting in the favour of a women leader. Women are not really politically socialized to take an interest in politics. They are actually socialized to take an interest in the home and take on a caring and nurturing role, rather than then having an interest outside the home. Society tends not to teach women political values, traditions, and norms that are desirable to have in a political career, therefore tarnishing a women’s eligibility. Another issue women are facing is balancing work and family. Women spend most of their time working and caring for their family. This leaves them with very little time to participate in politics let alone run for office. The second wave of feminism did come with positive results. There has been a persistent increase of the number of women serving in legislature since, compared to the government representation of five percent in 1980 and more recently a representation of eighteen percent in 1993. The main goal of the women’s movement was to promote equality for women in different sectors of life. In this case it is politics; women’s groups strived for civil and political rights as women. The main rights were; the right to vote and the right to run office. It is clear that women are still facing difficulties being equal to men despite have formal laws passed. Women are still not being represented in the government when compared to their population, although their numbers are slowly increasing with time. This gradual change relates back to the liberal feminist theory. The theory has been acted out, in the passing of laws and the gradual increase in numbers, however if the liberal feminist took a different more assertive approach to this issue and demanded the change instead of waiting for it, these numbers would have been a lot different. I believe as women we have been given the formalities however our issues are not being addressed and society as a whole is not accepting liberal feminist views. Women continue to receive less in our patriarchal society. Women still have less political power, less security, and lower status that do men. This continues regardless of decades dedicated to movements for women’s rights, and lobbying for policies designed to alter women’s status in society. While Liberal and Radical feminism both seek to ensure that women have access to resources and human rights in a gender equal environment they however do not necessarily employ similar methods in achieving these results. Each has its own distinct reason behind whatever methods they engage to achieve their goals. Radical feminists turn their explanatory focus onto heterosexuality as a social construction. Radical feminists often see the social framework of heterosexuality, family life, as central to women's oppression in modern societies. If men are the reason why women are oppressed, then surely heterosexuality means one must be sleeping with the enemy; a slogan emerged in the 1070's, “feminism is the theory, lesbianism is the practice” this slogan captures the essence of this perspective. The radical feminism perspective has many weaknesses. The first being, that women should be able to live independently from men, this argument poses a problem because true feminism is then associated with lesbianism. Another weakness if that radical feminist feel that men are the reason that women are oppressed, so they refuse to cooperate with men or accept and assistance to bring on the social change they desire. I feel that the theory of liberal feminism certainly deserves more merit then the radical theory because they take more or a realistic approach. However the liberal feminist theory does have a weakness as well. Liberal feminists do not seek revolutionary changes in society, but rather reforms that take place within existing social and political structures; they also believe that it is best to wait for gradual change. Women have been oppressed for centuries, feminist have many achievements, and however they deserve little merit. Liberal feminist are content with the challenges they have overcome and are waiting for change in the future. The problem with this is, women are still facing discrimination and oppression in many areas of their life. Family, work, and political representation all have a cause and effect relationship. Women till this day do more house work then men. They basically work a double day, one shift at work the second at home. It’s because of the unequal distribution of labour in the home that women have no time for work or political involvement. Women are also socialized in gender specific roles from the day they are born to act a specific way that involves maximum attention to one’s family and the home. Women still do not have maximum freedom; they are still not able to exercise their rights, to their full potential. Something is always holding them back, their family, or society. Liberal feminism needs to make some changes to its theory, instead of waiting for change they need to demand it.