Are you a feminist?

Stodgy bra-burning exclusionist politics? Susannah Crockford takes a look at feminism.

''Women work 2/3 of the world’s hours, produce half of the world’s food, but own less than 1 per cent of the world's property.'' ''On a global level there is still much that requires women to unite and support each other.''

This is a question that would not have held much currency in the 60s and 70s. Of course women were feminists, the difference was what kind? Radical, anarchist, lesbian etc. Today, we are meant to be post-feminist. We drink shots instead of pints, and we go to work as well as having children. The successes of feminism seem self-evident and have even prompted a backlash, where men can now claim to be the oppressed group, especially on such issues as custody over children.

But the lipgloss of success hides a less presentable reality. There may only be a 13 per cent average difference in men and women’s full-time earnings in the UK, but this masks the fact that the majority of women with children only work part-time. The average part-time earnings for women are 41 per cent less than the average for men. There is also a pronounced occupational segregation: 60 per cent of women work in just 10 occupations which tend to be lower paid, such as childcare. It seems to be the case that while women have the responsibilities of sexual equality (they earn their own money) they do not have the benefits (they do not get paid as much money).

The picture becomes bleaker when the rest of the world is drawn in. 70 per cent of the 1.3 billion people in extreme poverty are women and girls. Across the world, twice as many women as men are illiterate. Women work 2/3 of the world’s hours, produce half of the world’s food, but own less than 1 per cent of the world’s property. There is a denial of women’s basic human rights on a global scale.

There is movement to combat this gross inequality on an international level. UNIFEM has made ending feminised poverty a core priority. One way of doing this is to bring gender into trade and economic policies. By expanding access to markets, goods and services, women can begin to earn a living equal to that of man. For example, in Rwanda, UNIFEM-brokered connections to the private sector allowed groups of widow to sell handicrafts on the international market. Another way is gender-responsive budgets, which analyse government expenditure on women and girls as compared to men and boys, so governments can see where provision is falling short.

Today, feminism is often perceived negatively as stodgy bra-burning exclusionist politics, even by women themselves. It’s not cool to be a feminist anymore. Supporting other women is seen as hating men. But the problem of women’s rights goes beyond this pop culture assessment. Feminism has succeeded to some extent in the West, but on a global level there is still much that requires women to unite and support each other. When I wonder if there is still a point in being a feminist, I recall a quote from the US preacher and former presidential candidate, Pat Robertson:

"Feminists encourage women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practise witchcraft, become lesbians, and destroy capitalism."

And I think to myself, yes I am a feminist.