Women Politics And Charity Essay

Do you agree with the view that women’s contribution to charity and local politics represented a significant move away from the separate spheres ideology?

The separate spheres ideology was the idea that men and women belonged to different parts of society, where the women lived and worked within the ‘domestic’ sphre and the man worked within the ‘public’ sphere. The domestic sphere consisted of the home and children and jobs that were considered acceptable for women were usually ones that required ‘feminine’ and ‘domestic’ qualities such as being able to look after children as a governess. The public sphere, on the other hand was the industrial, working world and was not deemed a place for women to be as it was harsh and women-being the weaker sex- could not handle it. To say that women’s contribution to local politics and charity was a significant move away from the separate spheres ideology is to suggest that both men and women were part of the public sphere and women were no longer bound to their domestic duties. It would also imply that women were much closer to being treated and seen as equals in the workplace and women’s work was seen as being important, as well as men’s. it could be suggested that women’s work did not mean that they moved away from the separate spheres ideology but instead they created a domestic sphere within the public, which is a view that I agree with, to an extent. This essay will lay out the reasons why women’s work in local politics and charity did not represent a significant move away from the separate spheres ideology and therefore disagreeing with the statement.

Source B appears to disagree with the statement that society was moving away from the separate spheres ideology, due to women’s work in politics and charity. Source B writes of how women’s roles in politics were just ‘an extension of women’s caring role within the family’, which implies that there was a domestic sphere being created within the public and women again