Feminism Case Study

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Recommended: Compare the liberal and radical theories of feminism

What does feminism reveal about women’s representation on company boards? What are the strengths and limitations of this theory in understanding the issue?

Feminism is a complex theory that has transformed over many centuries, and due to its complexity, it has a variety of sub-categories which further explain its workings. However, for the purpose of this essay, the two opposing categories of liberal and radical feminism will be analysed. In order to assess the strengths and limitations of the the overarching theory, liberal and radical feminism will be applied to the case study of women’s representation on boards. Liberal feminism will be used to explain how identity politics needs be lessened in order for the segregation between men and …show more content…

The reason it has become such an accepted ideal is due to its realistic goals for reform (Epure 2014). Epure (2014) highlights the advantages of liberal feminism, and states “the quantifiable improvements to women’s lives brought about by liberal feminism indicates that it is the most likely to prevail in the long run due to its capacity to be realistic and practical in its goals,”. The reason this theory is considered to be realistic and practical is due to its method of solving issues, which involves firstly identifying a problem, such as a lack of women on company boards, and then proposing ways to solve these problems without having to disassemble society and instead making small adjustments to eventually better the community as a whole (Samkange 2015). Through gradual reforms, such as educating the public on the rights of women, liberal feminist values have made a change to aspects of society, one of which being the enhancement of women on company boards. Evidence of this change can be seen in the Australian Institute of Company Directors gender diversity report, which states “how women have made up 43% of new board appointments this year, up from just 5% in 2009.” (SMH 2016). While it is apparent there is still an extensive improvement needed for the introduction of women into mining and engineering based companies (SMH 2009), as a whole it can therefore be suggested …show more content…

However, when it is broken down further, it appears that the radical aspect of feminism holds more weaknesses than the liberal side (Ben-Ner 2009). The way liberal feminism promotes the collapse of identity politics in order for men and women to be equal is a realistic goal, and this breakdown process can be seen occurring within society, as is evident by the gradual increase of women within the workforce and the acknowledgement that more women need to be present on specific company boards (Epure 2014). Radical feminism, however, states that social politics promotes the observation of how women are vastly underrepresented within society, and in order to fix this dilemma the social basis needs to be completely readjusted to allow women greater power over men (Thompson 2001). It is evident that this goal is not desired by the majority of the population, due to company boards aiming to employ the same amount of women as men, rather than focusing on entitling women over men (WGEA 2016). Overall, it can therefore be stated that radical feminism is the downfall of the overarching feminist theory, and that liberal feminism provides the most accurate analysis of women’s representation on company

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