Throughout history, most people have organized themselves into factions when articulating or raising awareness about a particular societal issue. Human rights and justice are some of the most crucial matters that have mobilized large crowds of people in campaigning for equality and justice in society. Most governments have amended their laws to foster liberty, justice, and equality in response to the mobilization. Even so, other equally crucial issues are blanketed inside the above social concerns, making it difficult to approach and address them appropriately. For many decades and even in the present era, gender equality remains a critical human issue that has persisted for centuries (Celis, Karen, et al.). Most people (both young and old) living today have heard about gender equality at some point. According to (Andersson, Elias, et al.), gender equality is a situation where everyone has equal opportunities, freedoms, rights, and responsibilities. Since time immemorial, women, children, people with diverse genders, and people with disabilities belong to a portion of humanity severely affected by gender inequality. In the context of this paper, we shall look at the women’s rights movement as a part of the struggle against gender quality.
The women’s rights movement refers to a multiracial social movement in the United States of America after the end of the Second World War, the 1960s, and the 1970s. The primary objective of this movement was to fight and champion equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities in the U.S.A. As noted by (Marino), the movement’s efforts in achieving gender equality came at a time when the second wave of the feminist movement was sweeping through the United States and other parts of the world. The second wave of feminism refers to actions taken by women’s rights movements in questioning the unequal and unfair employment and remuneration trends in the United States (Molony). These movements stepped up their efforts after President John.F. Kennedy’s government amended the Constitution to eradicate employment and income inequality discrimination. In their argument, women’s movements pointed out that although the new laws were beneficial, they remained ambiguous and vague, and they did not specifically cater to women- who were the marginalized group.
Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005)
In examining gender inequality and the women’s liberation movement, this assignment selects Shirley Chisholm’s speech delivered in 1969 on Equal Rights for Women made on the 21st May 1969 in the U.S house of representatives in Washington, U.S.A. Born in 1924 and passed away in 2005, Shirley Chisholm served as an author, educator, politician, and key gender equality activist in the United States (Hayes). She consecutively produced Unbought and Unbossed and The Good Fight as an author. These, alongside other feminist works by other writers at the time, are considered part of the second wave of the feminist movement. Apart from just being a feminist writer, Shirley Chisholm achieved monumental success in politics. She was the first Black woman in the history of the U.S.A elected into the congress, where she served for 14 years (Charron). (1969-1983). Besides, Shirley Chisholm made history as the first Black woman to contest for the Democratic presidential nomination and the first African American female to run for the presidency of the United States in the 1972 general election (Munthali). Although she never won the presidency, her effort paved the way and increased the space for other females in U.S. politics.
Theoretical Underpinnings
Like Betty Friedan and other feminist activists in the 1960s and ’70s, Shirley Chisholm’s attempts to promote gender equality through the women right’s movements stemmed from an underlying paradigm referred to as the feminist theory. According to (Ferguson), the feminist theory is a diverse school of ideas relating to women across all societies aiming to unsettle traditions and philosophies that lead to gender inequality and injustice. Primarily, feminist theory aims to eradicate patriarchy with a social order that promotes justice, equality, liberty, and fairness.
As stated, feminism and feminist theory comprise a broad range of ideas. Quintessentially, the people who support feminism are known as feminists. Radical liberal feminists emphasize the eradication of the oppressive patriarchal order in human society and assert that women should freely exercise their sexuality (Williams). In this case, heterosexuality is oppressive. Hence, women should be left free to explore other sexualities. Liberal feminists view the unending oppression of women as entrenched in social, economic, cultural, and political institutions (Baehr). Marxist feminists argue that with the current social order, attaining freedom and equality is hard for women. There are other factions of feminists like the post-global, post-modern, multicultural, and eco-feminists. Throughout the years, efforts by feminist movements have critically shaped society, institutions, and the world. As noted by (Ferguson), the first feminist wave focused on the right to vote, the second one emphasized equal access and opportunity, and presently, it promotes global gender equality.
Shirley Chisholm’s speech to Congress 1969
Based on her biography and the discussion above on feminism, it is critical to note that Shirley Chisholm belongs to the second wave of the women’s rights movements. In her speech, she emerges as a liberal feminist as she questions various social, political, and economic factors that support the oppression and marginalization of women in America.
Not only as a feminist activist but as a politician, Shirley first questioned the institutional assumption of women as inferior and incapable of holding high positions in American organizations. Just like racialism, she acknowledged that this assumption is rooted in history and is at the core of the American community (Chisholm). However, she pointed out that discrimination against women was far, much worse because it ran across both the majority and minority communities in the United States. Shirley also touched on the issue of income equality between men and women in America. As she pointed out, American society was gradually becoming intolerant of racial discrimination against Black people. She wondered why the American community accepted it as fair for women to receive lower salaries than men. As an educator, Shirley understood that all the Black people hired across various organizations had the same skills despite gender differences. It shocked her to realize that women were not seen as equals in the workplace despite having equal and perhaps higher capabilities than men (Chisholm).
Apart from equal opportunity and remuneration, she also highlights leadership. Shirley recognizes that, by far, women surpass men in numbers. However, observing, I noticed that only a few organizations had female leaders. The same case applied in government agencies where the number of female representatives and senators was far below that of men. The situation was dire since women were the majority in the U.S. Hence, they made up a higher portion of voters. Partly, she blamed it on women because they had been slow in pursuing leadership for a long time. She acknowledged that women collaborated in establishing and sustaining their oppression (Chisholm). However, she quickly noted that the younger generation was ready to change the situation. The most critical part of the speech is how she addressed the need to embrace gender equality through the Equal Rights Amendment. In her argument, she outlined two major assumptions against gender equality. Firstly, as she put it, critics asserted that women required no further protection as they were already under the existing laws. Secondly, critics said that legislation on women would inevitably tamper with marriage laws enacted by states across the country. Shirley approached these two assumptions with evidence. Firstly, if the legislations were operational, the high number of women in low paying jobs and the low number of women in managerial positions would have been nonexistent. Secondly, it would never be an anomaly for women to seek positions in politics and professions often seen as unfeminine (Chisholm).
In finding a solution, Shirley proposed an overhaul of the prejudiced system upon which most institutions operate. This process would begin with abolishing oppressive marriage laws and establishing proper legislation for protecting employees and ensuring equity in employment and payment. This solution would work for all genders, and therefore there would be no need to protect either men or women.
As part of the women’s rights movement, Shirley Chisholm was on the frontline in ensuring equal opportunities for women across all fields. It is crucial to note that she and other women’s efforts gave way to the rise of the third and current wave of feminism sweeping throughout the world. In response to their efforts, contemporary society is beginning to emphasize gender equality globally. However, most non-western communities are male-dominated, with only a few females getting leadership positions. However, as Shirley noted, the aspects causing gender inequality are dependent and require time to unsettle and change.
Works Cited
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Baehr, Amy R. “A capacious account of liberal feminism.” Feminist Philosophy Quarterly 3.1 (2017).
Celis, Karen, and Joni Lovenduski. “Power Struggles: Gender Equality in Political Representation.” European Journal of Politics and Gender 1.1–2 (2018): 149–166. European Journal of Politics and Gender. Web.
Charron, Kerry. “Shirley Chisholm: Catalyst for Change.” (2017): 554-556.
Chisholm, Shirley. “Equal rights for women.” Network Journal 23.1 (2016): 68.
Ferguson, Kathy E. “Feminist theory today.” Annual Review of Political Science 20 (2017): 269-286.
Hayes, Jennifer L. “CHISHOLM, SHIRLEY.” Encyclopedia of the Black Arts Movement (2019): 84.
Marino, Katherine M. Feminism for the Americas: The Making of an International Human Rights Movement. UNC Press Books, 2019.
Molony, Barbara. Women’s Activism and” Second Wave” Feminism: Transnational Histories. Bloomsbury Academic, 2017.
Munthali, Towela M. “Pushing the Glass Ceiling: Shirley Chisholm & the Democratic Party.” Women Leading Change: Case Studies on Women, Gender, and Feminism 3.2 (2018).
Williams, Cristan. “Radical inclusion: Recounting the trans inclusive history of radical feminism.” Transgender Studies Quarterly 3.1-2 (2016): 254-258.
