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9 - The politics of female diversity in the twenty-first century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Catherine Hakim
Edited by
Jude Browne
Catherine Hakim
Affiliation:
Senior Research Fellow, London School of Economics
Jude Browne
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

There is still no consensus on what the goals of feminism should be. This is largely because women themselves differ in their life-goals, needs and aspirations. Until recently, there has been rather more consensus on the key indicators of women's position in society, and the pace of change – which is glacial. However there is again little agreement on explanations for the slow pace of change, and what should be done about it. This chapter presents a new theory for explaining the lack of any fundamental change after the equal opportunities revolution of the late twentieth century; preference theory also shows that some women are benefiting greatly from recent changes while others are not, and predicts a continuing polarisation of the female workforce. Perhaps most important, preference theory predicts that sex and gender are ceasing to be key dividing factors in the workforce and in society; instead, it is lifestyle preferences, personally chosen values and life-goals that segment society and determine patterns of work and employment over the lifecycle.

New feminist myths

The pay gap (the difference in average hourly earnings between men and women) has long been used as a simple but telling indicator of sex discrimination in the labour market and, by implication, other areas of life. It is published annually in Britain, and is scrutinised closely every year by gender specialists. Is it up? Or down? Until recently, this was appropriate.

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Chapter
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The Future of Gender , pp. 191 - 227
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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