Plato's program for women

According to Plato’s book, Republic, Plato was considered as the first feminist, which he was concerned about women not being treated and used fairly (451b-457b). Plato believed that the distinction between male and female was the same as the difference between having long hair and short hair (454b-456b), which he stated that it was the appearances that made female and male different. Although Plato stated that women should exercise the same as men, be educated the same as men, go to war the same as men, and be treated the same as men, Plato was still part of the traditionalists who believed that not so much should be expected from women.
First of all, Plato insisted that women would be inferior in performing the same task as men. Although Plato was a progressive in the view of the role of women in an ideal city, he was still influenced by the traditional view of women’s native culture. Plato’s vision of an ideal society was based on the necessity for productivity from all of the members, which women were expected to work as much as men. In this ideal society, individuals were valued based on their abilities to produce rather than their sexual roles (454d). As a result, women in this society had a chance to be valued outside of their traditional roles of being wives. Plato insisted that women were capable of the same tasks as men, but stated that women would definitely be weaker in performing them (466c). According to Plato Republic, Plato thought women were somehow physically weaker than men that even though they could do the same job, such as cutting down the trees, they still could not perform at the same level as men did. (467b)
Plato was also a conservative person who believed in division of labor. Plato felt it was a waste of women power to leave women in their homes, when they could be doing useful jobs in factories or offices. However, although both men and women were expected to work, there was a strict division of labor according to Plato. For instance,