Why Feminism and Capitalism cannot co-exist.

Recently I read Feminism vs capitalism by Vicky Price, I found it an eye opening read and I want to expand on some of these thoughts. I’m sure most people are familiar with the Feminist ideology that advocate all genders should be equal. Lots of people believe that feminism is no longer needed, however, there is still lots of work to do. In the UK the gender pay gap is 15.5% (in 2020) and in America women earn 81 cents to every 1$ a man earns. Economically the genders need to be equal in order for true gender equality to be achieved.

I am a Feminist, but I am also a socialist. I can see failings in the capitalist system that perpetuate inequalities that are already evident.

Another element of financial gender inequality that I found was just how much occupational crowding is an issue. One of the many ‘market failures’ that capitalism causes is that specifically women and people of colour are more likely to be in lower paid, part time work, as this is more flexible than jobs further up on the food chain. The system is designed to benefit people who can work for over 10 hours a day and do overtime on weekends and evenings. These long hours mean that women who have children and family’s (assuming the childcare responsibility falls on them) are often left behind when It comes to promotions and new jobs. What’s astounding is that 4/5 women say that childcare negatively impacted their career, which is an issue that men don’t seem to consider. Due to the majority of women taking all the maternity care they are offered, and missing lots of job opportunities. It is unfair that in our society men can have a successful career and a family, whereas, for women it is a successful career or a family. The fast-paced nature of capitalism means that in the UK, with neoliberal ideology ingrained in society we are not inclined to change the system because in the short term it will cause less profit. The system is further deterred by the almost fear of inflation the government seem to have, public spending would reduce this in some areas of the economy, however the Tory government are yet to implement change. There is easy change, however, the government and society have put capitalism on a pedestal because if it benefits the people in power. why would you want to change the system? I want to raise awareness and prove that in just one aspect of gender equality the uk is not equal, there are still improvements that should be made and it’s disheartening that the figures are so apparent still; when over 80 years ago women were granted the right to vote. Furthermore, these inequalities are emphasised by the coronavirus, and the economic implications. More women are furloughed due to the fields they tend to dominate, this is unfair and there would be less of an impact if these inequalities didn’t already exist.

I have linked the book Feminism vs Capitalism

https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/women-vs-capitalism/