Women and Socialism

There is an ongoing debate in the Women's Movement over the causes of women's oppression and therefore the sort of society that is needed to achieve equality. This article argues that women are oppressed because of the type of economic system we live under, and therefore that women's liberation is not possible until we have destroyed capitalism. This does not mean that we abandon the women's struggle until we have achieved socialism, but rather that we must keep our overall strategy in mind as we work out the immediate tactics of the Women's Movement.

Women Under Capitalism

The majority of women in capitalist societies such as New Zealand suffer double oppression, once as workers and again on the basis of their sex. The driving force of our economic system is investment for profit. Goods are produced if they make a profit, and not produced if they don't, regardless of need. Social services are only provided if they are in the interests of the capitalists, or if they have been won through hard political struggle.

In our society, all people who don't own the means of production — the factories, farms, or service companies etc. are subject to the decisions of those that do. Women however are singled out for double exploitation. The capitalists use the differences between men and women to "super exploit" women; just as they use the differences between whites and blacks in just the same way,

The Sexual Divison of Labour

The basis of sex discrimination is that the overwhelming burden of child-rearing is undertaken by women. This has myriad repercussions for women. A woman's role in the workforce is considered secondary to her role as a mother, her education is not given as much emphasis as a man's, in the workforce women are encouraged to take "motherhood" types of jobs (eg. teaching, nursing etc) and because women have the main burden of child-rearing they can't compete with men on the job market. There are in fact, two almost separate job markets in New Zealand, with very little overlap. For women's occupational distribution to match that of men, 73% of women would have to change jobs.

Who Benefits?

Who benefits from the sexual divison of labour? It is obvious that the capitalist class benefits. Women provide services that would otherwise have to be funded out of the profits of big business. They lock after children, they do voluntary social work, they clean the house and provide the meals, and they can always be encouraged to join the workforce when the economy is booming, and forced to leave when it is in crisis. In the workforce, because we are educated into believing that our primary role is that or mother and wife, we get paid lower wages and do the less skilled jobs.

It is also true that men benefit from sexist society. While women have been conditioned into thinking they are inferior, men have been conditioned into thinking they are superior. Most men therefore expect women to do the repetitive boring jobs in the house. Most men see women as sex objects. Many still do not agree with women claiming social and economic status equal to men.

But unlike capitalists, men do not have to cling to their sexist ideas. Often sexism works against their personal interests. They are therefore capable of changing their attitudes and have done so in the past. Many men support women's right to abortion, because they see their wife is happier working than staying at home to look after another baby. Some men agree with equal pay and jobs for all because if women are paid low wages or made redundant it undercuts the conditions of all workers. Throughout New Zealand's history, men have been drawn into the struggle for the vote, equal pay, maternity and domestic leave, abortion and for better childcare facilities.

What then should the Women's Movement be fighting against? If we compare the organised sexism of the capitalist class which controls New Zealand today, with the individual sexist ideas of men, it is obvious that while always fighting the latter's sexist ideas, we should unite with them where possible — in political groups, in the Students' Association etc, against the capitalist class. As long as we have capitalism, capitalists will continue to exploit women because they have so much to gain from women's oppression. Once we abolish capitalism and replace it with socialism, where investment is determined by the needs of the majority, money will be spent on eliminating the sexual division of labour.

Women will not automatically be equal however. It takes a long time to provide all the social services necessary for women to take an equal part in society, and also before the old ideas of women's inferiority are finally laid to rest, but only with the destruction of capitalism will the necessary basis be laid for the true liberation of women.

Leonie Morris