While equality as a general rule has become more prevalent in society there are still stereotypes that women are encouraged to follow. These stereotypes can stunt the social developmental growth of women. Still to this day women are considered the main caregivers in households and are frowned upon when this does not always prove to be the case. There are also still many stereotypes concerning how a woman should dress, look, and the jobs that they should hold in society. This thinking has caused much heartache for young women across the world and could be rectified by further studying the differences between men’s and women’s social development.
To dissect the essay topic, the terms “feminism” and “developing countries” will be defined. According to the Collins English Dictionary, “feminism” means a doctrine or a movement that advocates equal rights for women and “developing countries” means nonindustrialized poor countries that are seeking to develop its resources by industrialization (Collins, 2013). First of all, to determine whether the goals of feminism have been achieved, girls’ accessibility to education is the most basic measurement. Education is a source of enlightenment and knowledge. For people in the United States, education is something that they nearly take for granted, it is however a blessing for the girls to get educated in the developing countries.
Even before the creation of a specific national suffrage movement, certain rights had already been gained by women. Women could stand as members of Boards of Poor Law Guardians and also on local School Boards under the (Forster) Education Act of 1870. This gave women a chance to prove their ability in areas of political decision making – involving a female presence in the ‘public sphere’ for the first time - diminishing the anti arguments that women were not intellectually fit to do so. Moreover, the Municipal Franchise Act of 1869 was extended female rate payers, initiating a female presence in the democratic process. Women were able, furthermore, to stand as candidates in local elections by 1888, enabling women to challenge opposition views that had always denied them their rights, and the increasing roles of women in society indicated greater social acceptance.
However; external factors could be such as factors outside the education system, such as home and family background and wider society. Many sociologists believe that it is in fact the external factors that result in girls doing so well in education. The external factors could be the impact of feminism, changes in the family, changes in women’s employment and girls’ changing perceptions and ambitions. The impact of feminism can have encouraged girls to strive for success and thrive to the top in life, by starting with a successful career; which in today’s society is predominantly only achieved by doing well in education. Feminist movements have challenged the traditional stereotype of a woman’s role of being a stay at home mother and caring for her family.
Feminists argue that the education system is just a primary preparation for leading into the future work force. They believe there are still gender differences in subject choice in schools. Colley (1998) reviewed this idea and found that despite all the social changes in recent decades, traditional definitions of masculinity and femininity were still widespread. However, Sharpe (1976, 1994) interviewed a sample of girls in the 1970’s and another sample in the 1990’s. She found that their priorities had changed from love and marriage in the 1970s to jobs, aspirations and careers in the 1990’s.
Some may argue that although there is a statistical gap between girls and boys in the education system, it is not the most important factor contributing to a childs attainment. Many sociologists suggest that the gender differences in achievement, especially the rapid improvement of girls grades is best explained through external factors. Many see the rise of feminism has had a large impact on the education system and the gender gap in attainment. Feminism is a social movement that strieves for equal rights for women in all areas of life. They have fought against the traditional stereotype of women as housewife.
HISTORY AND THEORY OF FEMINISM The term feminism can be used to describe a political, cultural or economic movement aimed at establishing equal rights and legal protection for women. Feminism involves political and sociological theories and philosophies concerned with issues of gender difference, as well as a movement that advocates gender equality for women and campaigns for women's rights and interests. Although the terms "feminism" and "feminist" did not gain widespread use until the 1970s, they were already being used in the public parlance much earlier; for instance, Katherine Hepburn speaks of the "feminist movement" in the 1942 film Woman of the Year. According to Maggie Humm and Rebecca Walker, the history of feminism can be divided into three waves. The first feminist wave was in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the second was in the 1960s and 1970s, and the third extends from the 1990s to the present.
Generally speaking, the first and second waves of feminism are most recognized for their contributions to social and cultural equality. The first wave admittedly focused more on women’s suffrage, or rather, women’s right to vote. Mary Wollstonecraft was the first woman to write about equality of the sexes in her book from 1792: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. After the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920, which gave women the right to vote, the first wave of feminism was over. In the mid-sixties and early-seventies the second wave of feminism was formed.
It was in the early 1800s when women began to question various issues such as their roles in society and their rights as a woman, or their lack of rights and unjust inequality in comparison to males. Interestingly though in 1792Marry Wollstonecraft, who was a significant driving force in the women’s right movement, wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). In her book she argued that women were rational beings who should be able to be educated, earn their own livings, and develop their characters “regardless of the distinction of sex” (pg 24 Alison M Parker). Then in 1820 the activist Frances Wright went on to further publicize her work. At the time Frances Wright was best known for being a early proponent of the notion that marriage was a form of cohesive bondage for women, who there thereby denied the right to inheritances, wages, and joint guardianship of their children.
Working mothers are now a common part of society that reflects both economic necessity and new-found freedom for women to go beyond their traditional role in society. Just as women with children have responded to this dual challenge and responsibility, so too should the rest of society. Government institutions such as schools should expand schedules to accommodate working mothers. The roles of a mother have been imprinted into people’s mind, so it affects women who work in their society. Women who have children should be treated equally in their society because when they are working, they are working as a supporter of a family, not as