Women’s Equality in Ethical Theory and Perspective Essay

Women in the nineteenth century lived in a time characterized by gender inequality. At the beginning of the century, women could not vote, could not be sued, were extremely limited over personal property after marriage, and were expected to remain obedient to their husbands and fathers.( women’s suffrage movement 1) In most situations, the men would have to go to work and bring home the money, and the women would have no choice but to stay home, clean the

With the advancement of suffrage to equal pay, over the last century, women’s rights have progressed immensely. Through historic marches and demonstrations across the United States, women protested for their equal place in politics and social progress. Despite the fear-mongering components used in achieving these rights, women’s rights are still thoroughly debated within society today. Over the last century, incredible and unreachable goals have been fulfilled for women, such as the right to vote and a sense of equal state in the “Free World,” and can only improve in the years to come.

Women’s rights activists in the late 19th century objected an amendment proposing a “man’s government” in America. The amendment faced strong opposition because suffragists believed there was already excessive executive power given to men. So, these women demanded equal representation and access to the same civil liberties as men had by exposing the gender inequality they met through a series of persuasive tactics demonstrated in the article: “Manhood Suffrage.”

Starting in the nineteenth century women’s rights was a very hushed subject, it wasn’t really talked about because everyone thought of women as being the homemakers, taking care of the family and making meals while the men went out and worked. During

The 1920s were a time of great change in all countries, particularly in the United States of America. America however also saw mass unrest, particularly economical, political and social unrest. All of these issues were influential on the American pubic. The 1920’s began with a massive political change – women were given the right to vote, by the 19th Amendment of the Constitution.

I want to address the question: Could feminist ethics provide a “better” alternative than traditional normative ethical theories? In order to answer this question, one must have an understanding of what feminist ethics is and what it aims to accomplish. According to Rosemarie Tong and Nancy Williams, feminist ethics is “an attempt to revise, reformulate, or rethink traditional ethics to the extent it depreciates or devalues women 's moral experience.” An important point in feminist ethics is to understand how gender affects our societal expectations. When approaching the inequality of women and men, feminist ethicists also have to argue against the societal structure of “class, race, physical or mental ability, sexuality, and age” (Lindemann 142). Feminist ethicists also have to question the relationships of power between different groups of people and the trust that they have in them. They question who, what, and why trust is given. Furthermore, they have to try and figure out which relations of power apply to whom and how they relate to morality. Many traditional philosophers argue over what ought to be, but in doing so they teach that being ethical is something that cannot be attained. In order to understand what is morally right, a person has to understand humanity’s current role in the world. Lindemann further explains this idea:

You should do unto others as you would have them do to you, except if they’re not white, or a man, or really if you don’t feel like it. The philosophy of ethics has been a long and debated subject which has drawn the attention of great minds such as Aristotle, Kant, Hume, Bentham, and many others. In a comparatively short period of time a new and weighty upheaval to the established ethics has been declared from those in favor women’s rights, called feminists. They mainly state that traditional ethics do not voice all peoples like they claim to do. The feminist critique of traditional ethics is correct due to the lack of diversity in philosophers, inequalities towards women, and the notion that morals of one class account for the entirety or human-kind.

Feminist ethics is an approach to re think traditional ethics that devalue a women moral

istory has shown that prejudice has existed for a long time; progresses have been made for the better but in past years the existing prejudice was a societal norm. There are obvious types of sexism and issues which affect gender rights, but more delicate and inconspicuous elements are often swept under the rug as issues which do not need to be changed, as they are ‘tradition’. Marriages are often the subject of controversy regarding gender rights because of their grey area regarding gender roles. Nineteenth century wives were often treated more like children by their husbands as opposed to wives, particularly in Northern European culture. In the same vein, this time period was notorious for its women being socially oppressed, and where men

During the 19th century, Feminism had a significant effect on the women’s role in society and in everyday life. Women got sick of living the homemaker lifestyle, and were getting bored with their typical daily duties, such as cleaning the home and caring for the family full-time. They were also tired of their voices not being relevant regarding community affairs. In result, the decision was made it was time to make a change. It is a well-known fact that men were granted with rights; which mean that women had little to none. Women, exhausted from being viewed as property, wanted equal rights as men, and the same opportunities that men received. Motivated for the rights they believed in, the beginning of the Feminist Movement, also known as

It is well-known that throughout history women and men have not always been treated as equals; it was not until the early twentieth century that women could vote in most countries. In the Victorian era, when A Doll’s House took place, women held a less than equitable sociopolitical and domestic standing. Socially, marriage and motherhood where no longer just emotional fulfillment for a woman; they had now become a responsibility and a full-time job that hardly allowed for leisure or external work. Since a woman’s life was centered on domesticity she had even fewer political rights outside the house than she did inside. A woman was not to vote, she could not form contracts without consent from a man, she was not deemed as a person under the

The fight for women’s rights has been a long and ongoing battle. It was not until the twentieth century that the majority of women demanded legal and social rights for themselves. Society’s way of thinking in the eighteenth century was a patriarchal and conservative one. Women stayed at home and took care of the family while the men went to work, and while there was some opposition to this, the majority of men and women did not mind. This can be seen in the formation and vast acceptance of the Cult of Domesticity. The Cult of Domesticity, also known as The Cult of True Womanhood, was a set of ideals that women closely followed in the nineteenth century. The movement was made up of mainly middle or upper class white women who followed four

As a woman living in a globally thriving society, one may contemplate women’s rights as not being a problem anymore, that humans’ rights relate to every single gender, but sadly this is not yet true. Women have fought in the constant battle of gaining equal rights as their opposing gender for decades. Though times have gotten a lot better since the era of the Victorian Age, today women have not given up their focus on equal rights and how society should treat them.

When men and women are treated differently, it is unethical, especially when they perform the same tasks, which require the application of the same skills, knowledge and experience. Gender inequality reflects a greater level of significance ethically as it influences women’s motivation to perform tasks in a proper way. Ashley Wietsma discusses how women’s experiences regarding gender inequality in the workplace are generally based on several factors including lower job security, lower wages compared to men, lack of respect, lack of benefits, or inadequate benefits, and vulnerability to sexual harassment and abuse (2). As a result, women face a lack of motivation and possess negative attitudes towards unethical gender discrimination. This can be viewed through the lens of justice and fairness, as well as rights because the ethical framework of justice and fairness states that every individual deserves to be treated as the one next to them unless proved not to be. Additionally, the ethical framework of rights states that people have the right to freedom and the right to be treated fairly when they deserve to. Therefore,

During the past century there have been significant changes in the modern values and norms of our society. While both men and women have had difficulties revolving around these changes, the Nineteenth Century really impacted “a sharp differentiation between the gender roles” (Radek, 2001, para. 1). Males and females are thought to have separate societal duties based on gender differences. The male’s duties began to be in the public sphere and the woman’s duties are confined to the privacy of the home. During this changing century, female status began to dramatically emerge through the fight for female education and women’s rights. Although men have had some significant challenges, they have not been more affected by the modern cult of individualism and self-actualization than women have.