Gender Research Paper

“In spite of advances made by women in a number of different arenas and the work done by the Women’s movement, feminist organisations, and other activists, women still do not yield or exert the power that men command.” (Galliano, 2003)

Critically assess the adequacy of the above-mentioned statement, examining its relevance for Caribbean women and their experiences in the political, social and economic domains.

According to Grace Galliano (2003), “power is the ability to influence what happens in interactions and the ability to limit access to resources, and the ability to define experiences for others”. French & Raven (1959) provide us with five bases through which power can be manifested. These are reward power, coercive power, expert power, legitimate power, and referent power. When we look at power through these lenses, we can see that men have the upper hand. Men typically earn more money so they command reward power; they are seen as more assertive so they command coercive power; they typically have greater access to higher education so they possess expert power; men are placed in leadership roles and are generally seen as important in society, thus they command legitimate power; and as men are usually placed in leadership roles in groups with which we may identify, they also possess referent power.

Joan Rollins (1996) sought to level the playing field by assigning traditional forms of power to women. She concluded that women possess bases of power that are mainly sole theirs. The bases she assigned are nurturant power, cooperative power, socialization power, sexual power, and reproductive power. While the bases of power discussed by French & Raven can potentially be possessed by both men and women, Rollin’s bases of power mainly are for women alone. This shows that there are areas in society where women are extremely necessary and their roles cannot be fulfilled by a man.

While her bases of power are important, they are not as widely valued as French & Raven’s bases. Though women are primary caregivers, produce children and can command sexual power, men still exert more “important” power, for lack of a better word. A woman’s sexual power is only as powerful as the man she has sex with, and many men consider women good for nothing other than producing more men and feeding them. Furthermore, women are expected to be cooperative and complacent and thus are often walked over in the political, social and economic spheres.

Impact of Feminists

The various women’s movements and important feminists around the world over the years have been making substantial achievements and contributions to society. In America, women’s movements led to Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act in the United States, which allows victims of pay discrimination to file a complaint with the government against their employer within 180 days of their last paycheck. Furthermore, the Supreme Court ruled in 2005 entitled Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, also inherently prohibits disciplining someone for complaining about sex-based discrimination. And, in 1994 The Violence Against Women Act was passed which tightens federal penalties for sex offenders, funds services for victims of rape and domestic violence, and provides for special training of police officers.

There have been successes and contributions in the Caribbean due to women’s movements and key feminists. The woman’s self help movement in Trinidad founded in 1901 under the inspiration of the Lady Musgrave Self Help Society in Jamaica 1865 provided a means of giving women an extra source of income. This organization challenged the idea of women’s inherent selflessness (Wieringa 1995). In 1931 it managed to make a profit of $15,000 which it then paid out to its members. The Coterie of Social Workers founded in Trinidad 1921 by Audrey Jeffers also helped to empower women. This organization worked to meet the needs of working women, mothers and children. Elma Francois born in St Vincent was another key Caribbean feminist like Jeffers. She was one of the founding members of the Negro Welfare Cultural and Social Association which mobilised support for the striking oil workers, during the Butler Riots of 1937 and held meetings in the north and the turbulent south Trinidad, partly under the auspices of Butler's party the British Empire Workers and Citizens Home Rule Party.

These examples very clearly show how important women’s movements and women themselves are to each other and society on a whole. However, despite these and countless other instances of the substantial contributions women have made, they still do not exert