Liberal (libertarian) Feminism
*Check out LILA Uruguay’s newest article on libertarian feminism published in El Pais by Chapter Leaders Sabrina and Maria!
Liberal (libertarian) Feminism
These days many people misconceive feminism and liberalism as opposing causes.
by Sabrina Riveiro and Maria José Fernandez
Is it possible to be both a feminist and a libertarian? Of course it is! David Boaz, from Cato Institute (2015) states that a libertarian must necessarily be a feminist, in the sense of defending equality under the law for men and women, and that is the reason why each day there is a greater amount of people who want to show an important part of reality: Feminism is born from liberalism. The first traces of feminist thought can even be traced up to century XV (Christine de Pisan).
Thereafter, authors such as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and François Poullain de La Barre, who contributed to reflect on women status in society, can be found. Nevertheless, it is not until the arrival of the Illustration in century XVIII, along with the Bourgeois Revolutions, when deep criticism on social inequality between men and women is set, and claims for equal rights and liberties are laid.
This phenomenon of criticism and action begins along with the progress and spreading of scientific knowledge and liberal ideas rationality (individual liberty, democracy, justice, equality under the law, between others).
During this period, some bourgeoise figures as Olympe de Gouges (“Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen”), Mary Wollstonecraft (“A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”), Thomas Paine (“An Occasional Letter On The Female Sex”) and even the philosopher John Stuart Mill (“The Subjection of Women”) start to take action on the matter, not only by being critical about inequality between sexes, but also imparting actions with the aim to change that reality.
It is during the Industrial Revolution that economic freedom and property rights ideas take strength, and therefore women start to have a different role in the economy, acquiring the ability to generate output and income, a role that is widened after the beginning of the World Wars. However, back in that time women still did not have fundamental rights such as voting or tutelage of their own children, that is why in Europe feminist movements with greater visibility (for instance, les suffragettes) start to arise.
Back to present, taking into consideration the progress achieved during the last 60 years in terms of gender, we can state that free market has been, for excellence, a crucial ally in women’s progress because, by allowing them to be owners of their labour income, it enables the chance of accomplishing economical independence and therefore leeway. This positive correlation between economic freedom and opportunities equality between both sexes is corroborated by the Fraser Institute in its work “Impact of Economic Freedom and Women’s Well-Being”, carried out in 2015. In the graph below it can be observed that those countries with greater economic freedom have more women participating in the market and, at the same time, a less percentage of women employed in vulnerable sectors.
Why is it still important liberal feminism if there have already been many rights for women in the western world? Because there are pending issues. Studies as the ones elaborated by the World Economic Forum (2019) show that feminine participation in politics and in the labor market is still lagging. According to Mckinsey Institute (2015), in a full exploitation of capabilities scenario where women participate in the economy in an identical way to men, the global GDP may grow as far as in a 12%.
Regarding our Country, it exhibits levels above average in terms of feminine access to healthcare and education, but if we focus on politics and economics, we can see a clear lagging. Uruguay maintains a very low participation of women in politics rate, a fact that can be easily corroborated by the small number of female parliamentarians, an amount even more reduced than United Arabian Emirates’.
How does Uruguay perform when it comes to sex equality in labour market? According to the study elaborated by Verónica Raffo published in El País (2020), only the 4,4% of the total managerial positions are occupied by women, and no more than the 5,2% of the CEOs are female, in spite of representing the 44% of the occupancy rate. By analyzing the numbers published by the INE (2020), we can see that the local unemployment rate is currently 8,5%, but, disaggregating the population between men and women, we can observe that men have an inferior unemployment rate in comparison to women, specifically 7,2% to 9,9%.
The scenario we are facing has some optimist features, and other that are rather not so. Standing before it, we have many varied paths to take towards the pursuit of a greater equality between men and women. In review of the several issues that have been of great advantage for the feminine development, we strongly believe that liberal feminism is the best way to continue going forward with the political and economical progress of women. The engagement of more members of the society with the feminist cause, will make the changes of a long term duration.
Special regards to the Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo for sharing with us the space in Economía & Mercado from El País Uruguay