The Weird and The Wacky Meet

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Equality and Feminism

They Really Are One and The Same

                 Equality is one of those lofty concepts that most people say they believe in, but it seems that few really want to take the time to examine what it really means.  If women make up about 50% of the population, wouldn’t equality mean that women take about 50% of jobs in each profession?

                 Recently, a few female columnists, including Susan Estrich and Anne Applebaum, have squabbled among themselves over the issue of just how small a percentage of women there is on the editorial boards of newspapers.  While there's no definitive answer, it doesn't seem as if women have much of a voice as editors, with Estrich suggesting that as few as 10% of editorial boards are staffed by women. 

                 These numbers could include any high ranking position in any profession for that matter.  According to the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), women only make up 13.6% of corporate board membership.  Even the president of Harvard questioned the place women in math and science professions, suggesting that they should not expect numerical equality.  This is the crux of the problem; when we tell our little girls that they can grow up to be anything they want, we’re lying.

                 We live in a society where women still earn only 77% of what men do, according to the CLUW.  Sure, if you compare the salary of a woman who is working at the same upper-class job as a man, the numbers become a little bit better, though still not equal.  However, women are not getting the same opportunities as men to obtain these high-end jobs.  They are forced to work the jobs that pay less, and get paid less than men with the same jobs.  This fact is undeniable.

                  Yes, I am one of those feminist types; I wear that chip on my shoulder like I would wear a badge on my chest.  I will sing it from the rooftops that I believe in equality and that women do not yet have it.  And I will say it again; women who aren’t for equality are traitors to their gender and to everyone else who is denied their fair share.

                 Yet so many of us look at feminism as a bad word, because it’s been hijacked by women who aren’t actually supporting equality, but are instead in favor of doing to men what has been done to women.  These anti-male, partisan “feminists” create a problem for those men who want women to have the same rights as they do.  After all, how can a man support a movement that wishes to harm men?

This is especially unfortunate because men really should care about women; these are their mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, wives, lovers, and fellow human beings.  Unless we make feminism solely about equality, men won’t join the cause.

                 So, how do we fix the economic inequity?  The answer lies in education.  We need to start earlier in identifying ways to make the education process fair to both men and women.  We need to put top researchers, of any gender, on the problem and come up with solutions.  And in the meantime, maybe a little Affirmative Action for women isn’t such a bad idea, not as a permanent solution but as a short-term boost to help get things moving.  I’d rather have a job where I questioned whether I belonged than no job at all.

                 We also need to make it easier for women with children to work and still get an education.  We need to take the stigma off fathers who care for their children, either by staying home or helping out around the house.  Maybe the wage gap could be partially resolved by making it okay for men to put their careers on hold for their families.  In short, we need to not punish both sexes for their choices.

                 I am so sick of the trend where people insist that these inequities are justified because men and women are intrinsically different.  Short of the 5% difference in body structure, how exactly are we different?  Do I really think so differently from my male counterparts that I can’t hold a job traditionally reserved for men?  Is it really so much to ask that society look at itself honestly, and say, “Hey, maybe if women aren’t doing as well, it’s because we’re not giving them a fair shake?”

                 Men and women are not identical, but the differences don’t make any difference.  Even if there are some tendencies for the two sexes to be better at some things than others, these are small influences compared to the wide overlap, and do not explain the gap.

                 Given how mutable and amorphous gender is and how much more we have in common than in contrast, pretending that some jobs are suited only for men or only for women is insulting to everyone.  Why can’t men write about “women’s issues”?  Why can’t men do “women’s work”?  Why do we even classify things this way?  Shouldn’t human beings work at being human’s first?

The essence of non-discrimination is judging people on their own abilities, not as members of some larger class.  We should give people a chance to excel, regardless of gender.  We should hire the best person for the job, even when it’s a woman.

Until things are truly equal, which can come only when we, as a society, sit down and work to fix the problem, anyone who supports equality must be for feminism.  It’s unfortunate that there are some extremists who are partisan “feminists”, but we can’t let them define feminism for the rest of us.  It’s time to take back the word, and make this world a better place for all human beings, whether male or female.

Copyright 2005

Feminist Button With A Quote From Cheris Kramarae and Paula Treichier

By Amanda Evans

Date: 05/05/05