| Gender Asbestos at The Economist |
| Friday, 08 January 2010 12:32 |
Gender Asbestos at The EconomistPosted by Louise Roth to Gender Myths and Facts In a recent article, “Womenomics: Feminist management theorists are flirting with some dangerous arguments,” The Economist takes a position on an age-old feminist debate: are women the same as men (and therefore equal) or are women different from men (implying that men and women are unequal)? Since at least the early 1980s, feminist scholars have recognized that this debate is a trap because it makes men the measure of all things. If women have to be the same to be equal, then they must live up to a male standard that doesn’t fit their experience (especially if that standard includes a stay-at-home spouse and no childcare responsibilities). If women claim to be different, then difference can be used to justify inequality. But The Economist comes out firmly on the side of preferring the sameness argument: women should be tough and manly in order to compete with men on their own turf. References: Acker, Joan. 1990. “Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organizations.” Gender and Society, 4(2): 139-158. Roth, Louise Marie. 2006. Selling Women Short: Gender and Money on Wall Street. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Louise Roth is the author of Selling Women Short: Gender and Money on Wall Street |
