03/05/2023 Women and equality 1

Women and equalityN C Gardner

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The demands of the Women’s Liberation Movement

1. Equal pay2. Free oral

contraception and abortion on request

3. Equal educational and job opportunities

4. Free 24-hour childcare

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A typical family of the 1960s

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Companionate marriage

• More consideration on the part of the husband towards burdens of childcare and running a home.

• However, there is little evidence that husbands were really willing to accommodate themselves to the needs of their wives.

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Gender inequality in employment

• During the 30 years from 1980 the number of female workers in the UK rose by 2.45 million, whereas the number of male workers rose by only 0.5 million.

• There were a similar number of men and women in work by 2008 – 13.6 million of each sex – compared with 1985, when men filled two million jobs more jobs than women.

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Gender bias in industry

• Certain industries are still under-represented by women. The majority of Members of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers and directors of the FTSE 100 top companies are men. For example from 2003 to 2007, this remained the case.

• In 2007 women accounted for 19.3% of MPs; 26.1% of Cabinet Ministers and 11.0% of FTSE 100 directors.

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The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

• In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir writes:

• “History has shown us that men have always kept in their hands all concrete powers; since the earliest days of the patriarchate they have thought best to keep woman in a state of dependence; their codes of law have been set up against her; and thus she has been definitely established as the Other.”

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However …

• The power dynamics in Western societies, including in Britain, are shifting. Women now make up the MAJORITY of the workforce of the United Kingdom and the United States.

• Feminisation of the workplace, society and values has taken place.

• Traditional male characteristics such as competition and aggression are now viewed negatively.

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However …

• It could be argued that the public sphere of the workplace is now a female-dominated area.

• In professional schools, university and management the majority of people are now female.

• The largest number of unemployed people are men which has vast social consequences including a lack of traditional husbands.

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However …

• The key element in women outperforming men in the professions and management is the larger number of women gaining university degrees compared with men.

• Girls outperform boys at school and college. Various reasons suggested include the greater engagement, focus and social intelligence of girls.

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Male insecurity

• Increasingly in recent decades male insecurity has come to the fore. For example, the sale of male grooming products has soared in the last 30 years.

• Male waxing is now commonplace and cosmetic surgery for men is increasing.

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Politics, CEOs, the military still male-dominated

• The majority of candidates for political office are men; the majority of people who start businesses are men; the majority of the armed forces and the police are men.

• In computer science, maths and engineering the overwhelming majority of graduates and professionals in these areas are men.

• However, the dominant contemporary cultural message is ‘women are wonderful’; ‘Girl Power’.

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