Malala Yousafzai, activist for education for girls and women and the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, who, on 10/9/2012, was shot in the head for her activism for education for females states, “I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. … We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back” (qtd. in https://malala.org/malalas-story/).
Trigger warning: Some people are triggered by the word, ‘feminism.’ Please keep an open mind reading this because ‘man-hating’ IS NOT the true meaning and purpose of embracing feminism. While feminism has gotten a nefarious reputation over the past decade, it’s undeserved. As always, "the rotten apple spoils his companion” (Benjamin Franklin - qtd. in https://www.npr.org/2011/05/09/136017612/bad-apple-proverbs-theres-one-in-every-bunch), applies here. From one of my favorite writer/teachers, Rebecca Campbell, “I want you to know this is not a book [referring to her book Rise, Sister, Rise] about women rising over men. This is a book of remembering a time when every woman was seen as sacred and the divine feminine returning and rising just as she should. We’re being called to bring about a balance between the feminine and masculine energies within ourselves and in our world at large. Both are sacred and needed. In order for this to happen, the sacred feminine that has been dormant and at times suppressed needs to continue to rise” (Campbell). Feminism is not about matriarchy over patriarchy; and, while it has become a hot political divider, it doesn't need to be. I'm curious what young women will do to to protect their rights that are, at present, being seized. Thank you for continuing to read without preconceptions.
Feminism IS NOT synonymous with misandry. [“misandry = the hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against men and boys” (www.ocd.com).] That term is the female version of misogyny “…the hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women and girls” (www.ocd.com). Yes, there are people who are misandrists and there are people who are misogynists. 11 years ago, “the ‘Women Against Feminism’ campaign that launched [during which] social media posts featured young women holding placards with the message ‘I don’t need feminism because…’ listing various reasons ranging from ‘I respect men’ to ‘I am not a MAN-HATER.’ This perception of misandry – a hatred of men - is perhaps the most prevalent and enduring stereotype about feminism. [That group of women missed the point of feminism and fortunately, the movement fell apart because feminism is]… really a movement to end sexism and bring about gender equality, [not] wholly concerned with dislike of men. While ‘Women Against Feminism’ was ultimately eclipsed three years later by the #MeToo movement, it reflects a wider reality that stereotypes about feminism have caused women to spurn and even publicly denounce the movement” (https://theconversation.com/why-the-man-hating-feminist-is-a-myth-according-to-science-218167). But is it actually true that feminists tend to dislike men? Not according to recent research. To read an sample of the research, please open this link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03616843231202708).
CEO of The Cova Project, G. D. Anderson shares, “Feminism isn't about making women stronger. Women are already strong; it's about changing the way the world perceives that strength” (qtd. in https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a4056/empowering-female-quotes/). Author of The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood, explains, “Men often ask me, ‘Why are your female characters so paranoid?’ It’s not paranoia. It’s recognition of their situation” (qtd. in https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a4056/empowering-female-quotes/). Actress and activist, Emma Watson, tells us, “The more I have spoken about feminism, the more I have realized that fighting for women's rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjW9PZBRfk).
While researching to write this blog essay, I posted a request on social media asking people to share their thoughts on ‘feminism.’ These are the only responses I got to my query , "What are your thoughts on feminism in 2025?:
white CIS female age 75, “There are only two genders!” [This didn’t answer the query, but, this was her response.]
white CIS female age 37, “I want equality and respect but I don’t want people to think I hate men.”
white CIS man age 30, “Why are we still talking about this? It’s Biblical that men are told by God to be the protectors.”
white CIS man age 25, “Feminism makes it harder for me to get laid.”
black Trans woman age 27, “I’ve always been a feminist. I want white CIS feminists to remember us in their activism.”
[By the way, if you aren’t familiar with CIS, it means ‘cisgender,’ a descriptor for somebody whose gender identity matches their assigned gender at birth.]
Those comments scream the need for feminism! Perhaps the backlash against feminism and the advances women have fought hard to achieve have more to do with the inability of boys and men to accept equal opportunities and rights. In the article, "enndered Jobs Are On The Decline, But Steriotypes Remain, the author shares, "An increasing number of occupations and sectors are diversifying in gender makeup, and the binary gender pay gap is decreasing. In 1980, employers paid women ages 25 to 34 about 33 cents less per hour. As of 2020, that number wasn’t yet zero, but it was much smaller at 7 cents per hour. A 2017 study published in the American Sociological Review found that a profession that’s considered a 'male' job is perceived as more credible than a 'woman’s' job. The authors reached this conclusion by examining a relatively gender-neutral profession – business loan managers – for a Central American bank. The study found that borrowers were more likely to comply with their payments when they were paired with male loan managers, while customers paired with female managers were more likely to miss payments. There’s no need to explain why this is harmful for women, but it also disincentivizes men from crossing gender barriers.
'Both have made strides of improvement in the past few decades, but likely women in male-dominated industries have made more significant strides than men in female-dominated industries,' Smith said. Male-dominated occupations have traditionally had more respect, higher pay and more fringe benefits. Meanwhile, men in female-dominated professions face stigma without the financial incentives.Furthermore, when those initially paired with female managers during the study were switched to a different manager, noncompliance rates remained the same, regardless of the second manager’s gender. Apparently, all it took was knowing one person of an occupation to assign it a gender, and when that gender was female, the occupation was taken less seriously. The notion that women often [weren't] taken as seriously in workplaces is more than a casual observation: Scientific research has uncovered this trend. There are two ways to solve this gender problem in the workplace: One is to stop viewing female-dominated professions as less credible; the other is to eliminate arbitrary gender designations. Luckily, we’re seeing progress on the latter.
'Women and men are sidestepping preconceived notions and crossing over into roles that historically have been heavily populated by the opposite sex,' said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer for CareerBuilder.
One study found that nearly one-quarter of the new jobs in typically male-dominated occupations – such as CEOs, lawyers, surgeons, web developers, chemists and producers – were filled by women between 2009 and 2017. Overall, 23% of all jobs traditionally held by men were then held by female workers. In 2021, Catalyst Research published research showing a similar progression. The study detailed the percentages of women in the workforce of certain sectors. The researchers discovered that women employed in industries consisting of two-thirds men increased by 5% between 2016 and 2018.
Catalyst organized its findings into two groups: occupations and industries. The data, taken from 2019, found that women comprise the following percentages of these occupations commonly seen as male roles.
Civil engineers: 16%
Computer programmers: 21.1%
Construction managers: 8.4%
Driving/sales workers and truck drivers: 7.8%
Extraction workers, construction trades and first-line supervisors: 3.5%
Mechanical engineers: 8.7%
Software developers: 19.4%
Catalyst also collected data on the percentage of women in four male-dominated sectors.
Construction: 10.9%
Manufacturing: 29.5%
Mining, oil, and gas extraction and quarrying: 14.5%
Utilities and transportation: 24.1%
Women make up a more substantial portion of "traditionally male" workforces today than you may think.
In certain roles usually filled by men or women, the opposite gender remains underemployed. The most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data on nursing indicate that 12% of registered nurses and 20.8% of elementary school teachers are men.
On a much larger scale, here are other traditionally male-dominated jobs where women now comprise much of the workforce.
Lawyers: 37.6%
Veterinarians: 63%
Commercial and industrial designers: 17.9%
Marketing managers: 53.6%
Optometrists: 45.1%
Management analysts: 50.2%
Sales managers: 30.4%
Producers, directors and other film-related roles: 34%
Chemists: 38.9%
Coaches and scouts: 47.6%
Private detectives and investigators: 26.9%
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics: 31.7%
Financial analysts: 44%
Team assemblers: 45.5%
Computer systems analysts: 36%
General and operations managers: 30.4%
Surgeons: 22%
Web developers: 25.3%
Dentists (general): 35.9%
Chief executives: 30%
As you can see, career research traditionally pertains to male- or female-dominated roles. However, this framing excludes nonbinary and binary transgender personnel.
You can fill that gap by helping employees come out in the workplace if they so desire. The choice is theirs, not yours, but supporting employees who do come out can make your staff comfortable in any role" (https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10085-male-female-dominated-jobs.html). Perhaps, as women aspire to and are well-suited to careers that had been traditionally male-dominated, men no longer want those careers.
Idrees Kahloon, bureau chief for The Economist, shares his thoughts in an article published in The New Yorker in 2023 called, “What’s the Matter with Men? They’re floundering at school and in the workplace. Some conservatives blame a crises of masculinity, but the problems and their solutions are far more complex. Many social scientists agree that contemporary American men [and this is well documented in the UK too although women appear to have more equality there] are mired in malaise, even as they disagree about the causes. In academic performance, boys are well behind girls in elementary school, high school, and college, where the sex ratio is approaching two female undergraduates for every one male. (It was an even split at the start of the nineteen-eighties.) Rage among self-designated ‘incels’ [‘involuntary celibate’ is a term associated with a mostly online subculture of people (racially diverse, but mostly white, male and heterosexual)’], who define themselves as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one, and who may blame, objectify, and denigrate women and girls as a result. And, other elements of the online ‘manosphere’ [‘a collection of websites, blogs, online forums promoting toxic masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism’ (www.oed.com)] appears to be steering some impressionable teens toward misogyny. Men are increasingly dropping out of work during their prime working years, overdosing, drinking themselves to death, and generally dying earlier, including by suicide. And men are powering the new brand of reactionary Republican politics, premised on a return to better times, when America was great—and, unsubtly, when men could really be men. The question is what to make of the paroxysm. For the revanchist [seeking to retaliate] right, the plight of American men is existential. It is an affront to biological (and perhaps Biblical) determinism, a threat to an entire social order. Yet, for all the strides that women have made since gaining the right to vote, the highest echelons of power remain lopsidedly male. The detoxification of masculinity, progressives say, is a messy and necessary process; sore losers of undeserved privilege don’t merit much sympathy. The former Treasury Secretary and Harvard president Larry Summers, who is not known for his intellectual humility, recently surmised that ‘the answers here lie more in the realm of sociology than they do in economics.’ Reeves, too, thinks that we can’t explain the economic decline of men without looking at non-economic factors: ‘It is not that men have fewer opportunities. It is that they are not taking them’” (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/30/whats-the-matter-with-men).
Male, especially white male, privilege is being questioned and is being challenged; this appears to be one of the reasons for the anti-feminist backlash that we saw during the last USA elections and in the agenda of the current political agenda. Another reason men may be sensing women pulling away from wanting to date or marry is that women are tired of being unpaid labor in a relationship. Recently, I heard a speaker refer to some men as 'gold diggers' because they want to marry someone to take care of all of the details of life for no pay: child care, cleaning, grocery shopping, caring for elderly / sick relatives, taking off from work with their child is sick, doing the cooking, etc. I'll discuss the significant situation of unpaid labor a little later in this essay.
Having gone through and participated in supporting feminists in the 1970s through today, I am curious why young women are not challenging the anti-feminist backlash we are seeing today because their rights are being swept away. Consider what rights the feminism movement has earned: the right to vote, to own property, to get a credit card on our own, to attend higher education institutions and much more: https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/history-of-the-womens-rights-movement/ . Likewise, I do not comprehend why young men are not challenging the anti-feminist retaliation, especially when they have wives, partners, mothers, sisters, female friends, daughters they love. Yes, this is a complex issue and it’s worth exploring because not supporting everyone in their quest for equal opportunity, equal pay, equal rights over their own bodies, equal representation at the success table, eventually hurts everyone. “There is a common misconception that feminists are reverse sexists, however, unlike male sexists who oppress women, feminists do not seek to oppress men. Rather, they seek equal compensation, opportunities, and treatment across genders. Feminism seeks to achieve equal treatment and opportunity for women in order to achieve similar opportunities across different fields of work and culture and equal respect in a variety of roles. Feminist theorists often explore the concepts with regard to which of women's experiences are taken as normative, as well as the ways in which inequality is compounded by the intersection of multiple factors and identities. The goal of feminism is to create equity, which is essential for leveling the playing field to ensure that no one's rights are violated due to factors such as race, gender, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, political or other beliefs, nationality, social origin, class, or wealth status” (https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-feminism-3528958). Recently, the power in the USA shifted to one of seeing diversity and inclusion as the 'bad guy' or keeping men out of the women's restrooms rather than for what it is: leveling the playing field for everyone. For example, the governor of Texas, who is himself disabled and required alterations to be able to get around in the state buildings and governor's mansion, is not a supporter of the laws from the American With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies that demanded the upgrades to accommodate his disability. https://www.texastribune.org/2014/12/05/governors-mansion-tweaked-abbott/. Such misunderstanding of the purposes of these laws hurts everyone, including men . Governor Abbot would not have been able to completely do his job or be able to move into the Texas governor's mansion had it not been for these necessary laws.
For an eye-opening read, I recommend you explore Caroline Criado Perez’s book, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. Her research is thorough, well researched, and shocking. Her book describes the unfavorable effects on women around the world that is caused by a huge gap in gender bias in data collection. Women aren’t a minority; they hold up at least 50% of the population, but they “…lack enough streetlights to allow [them] to feel safe, [struggle with an] absence of workplace childcare facilities, [are frustrated by the fact that] almost everything seems to have been designed for the average white working man and the average stay-at-home white woman” (Criado-Perez). Ms. Perez gives so many examples of gender-bias in data collection, it will blow your mind! What is touted as impartiality in a data-driven world is, in truth terribly gender biased. The way data is collected, sorted, and analyzed is through a male default lens. “The result of this deeply male-dominated culture is that the male experience, the male perspective, has come to be seen as universal, while the female experience — that of half the global population, after all — is seen as, niche” (Criado-Perez).
Feminism is necessary to make changes that affect everyone and the economics - both micro and macro. As you know, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the “…monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country. GDP is often used to measure the economic health of a country” (www.ocd.com). Women around the world shoulder the most invisible, yet necessary work outside their paid working hours. That work, however, is not considered in calculating the GDP. “So-called invisible work—a term coined by sociologist Arlene Kaplan Daniels to describe work that goes unpaid, unacknowledged, and thus, unregulated—abounds in the workplace, especially when we look back on our careers in hindsight. Once you know, you cannot stop seeing such labor everywhere. It’s especially egregious for women and people of color, who pick up the slack for organizations that come to rest greatly on our efforts. One of the first steps in fixing the problem of invisible work is to, well, make it visible. Regina Lark’s recent TED talk [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJLawgDbn_E] implores us to stop calling anything ‘women’s’ work. ‘Work is work,’ she says” (qtd. in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJLawgDbn_E).
The number of women who work for pay and then after they clock out have other unpaid jobs is skewed. In an article from The National Partnership for Women & Families, “New Analysis Shows Unpaid Care Work in the U.S. is Worth More Than $1 Trillion Each Year”, “June 27, 2024 – The National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF) released a new analysis today, finding that Americans’ unpaid care work – two-thirds of which is done by women – is valued at more than $1 trillion each year. The research is based on the 2023 American Time Use Survey released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The annual survey measures how people spend their time, and includes activities such as leisure, volunteer and paid work, as well unpaid care work, such as caring for a child, helping an older family member or neighbor, or taking care of a sick friend.
The National Partnership analyzed who is more likely to do unpaid care work by race/ethnicity and gender, and how much time they spend. The analysis finds that:
* Overall, each person spends an average of 245 hours on caregiving annually. When valued at the low wages of the paid care workforce, that equates to more than $1 trillion. For women, the value of the unpaid care they provide is $643 billion.
* Asian women and Latinas spend more time than any other group providing unpaid care and support for family, friends and loved ones – at an average of about an hour per day. Altogether, Asian women provide 3.5 billion hours of unpaid care, while Latinas provide 8.4 billion hours. The total value of Asian women’s unpaid care work is $55 billion annually, and the total value of Latinas’ unpaid care work is $133 billion annually. Black women provide $4,250 in unpaid care per capita each year, totaling $80 billion annually.
* Black women provide $4,250 in unpaid care per capita each year, totaling $80 billion annually.
*White women provide $4,540 in unpaid care per capita each year, totaling $476 billion annually.
Jocelyn Frye, [president of The National Partnership for Women &
Families reports] These important data reveal exactly how much we undervalue care and demonstrate the enormous potential impact of compensation women for all the unpaid caregiving they perform, even at the inadequate wage levels currently provided to members of the paid care workforce. Time spent providing care is time spent working, and America’s caregivers make critical contributions to our communities and our economy. That is why we will continue our push to ensure every person receives the essential supports and protections – including paid family leave – that they need to thrive. ‘Caregiving work – both paid and unpaid – has long been viewed as ‘women’s work.’ The gap between women’s and men’s unpaid caregiving reflects these gender stereotypes – stereotypes that harm everyone, both at home and at work, by increasing women’s economic inequality and impacting men’s ability to care for their loved ones,’ said Katherine Gallagher Robbins, Senior Fellow at The National Partnership for Women & Families. ‘Policymakers must prioritize investing in caregiving policies so people are not forced to choose between their loved ones and their paycheck.’ The analysis finds that the caregiving gap between men and women persists. Women spend an average of 17 more minutes than men each day caring for and helping family members and loved ones. Men also do essential care, providing $3,040 in unpaid care per capita each year, a total value of $403 billion” (qtd. in https://nationalpartnership.org/news_post/new-analysis-americans-unpaid-care-work-worth-more-than-1-trillion-each-year/).
This is another reason we need to support feminism. “Women performed 78% of the total value of unpaid household production in 2019, the researchers found. That number reflects ‘the patriarchal allocation of household production responsibilities in our society; per [a Labor Department and Economics at Bard College] report. The report details how] the government could measure this activity, which they call ‘household production.’ The Labor Department commissioned the report in 2021, part of a major initiative aimed at coming up with a new component for one of its biggest reports, on consumer expenditures. That survey examines how much Americans spend on everything from food to furniture to restaurant meals. It doesn't capture activities that don't cost money — but do cost time. When day cares and schools shut down during the height of the pandemic, Americans got a crash course in how critical unpaid labor is for keeping society humming. That experience nudged the Labor Department into action. Between the lines: This is a win for feminist economists. For years, their mainstream peers, mostly men, argued unpaid work wasn't an economic issue because it's a woman's moral duty borne out of love” (https://www.axios.com/2024/03/22/womens-work-household-data). If you want to see the stats of women in your state, check out this website. I live in Louisiana, so the link goes to my state, but, you can easily find your state; the stats are depressing. [https://statusofwomendata.org/wp-content/themes/witsfull/factsheets/economics/factsheet-louisiana.pdf]
Need more? Here’s another reason to support feminism: safety. How many boys and men are taught to carry a personal alarm, carry mace, carry a taser, carry keys between their fingers? How many boys and men are encouraged to run without headphones, earbuds and to pay attention to their surroundings? How many boys and men experience ‘cat calling’, intimidating behavior from stranger women when they go out? How many boys and men are worried about their drinks being spiked with GHB or other date-rape drug? How many boys and men are cautioned not to wear certain clothes because it makes women want to rape them? Consider how women in some countries are treated like disposable chattel by men and boys; they are not safe, but the opposite is not true. With women being 50% of the population, 70% of the poor, 83% of single parents, feminism is relevant. Women are doing 66% of the work [and much of it unpaid labor], producing 50% of the food, but earning just 11% of the pay and own only 1% of the land. Reseach shows that In some places in the world, women and girls aren’t even regarded as people. (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/sp.pop.totl.fe.zs). You get the picture.
Both the feminine and masculine energies are needed, working together for the good of all. We all can be feminists when we care for all of humanity, want everyone to have equal opportunities, safety for everyone, equal pay for equal work, recognize / reward / respect the need for work/life balance for everyone, and respect rights & freedoms for all. Please share your stories, thoughts, insights, and suggestions by either commenting below this post if you are reading this on social media, or, if you are reading this through your email subscription, please share, by emailing me, at reimaginelife22@gmail.com.
Thank you for reading and participating in this blog essay; I invite you to subscribe to my blog at www.reimaginelifecoach.com.
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