Liberal feminism, also called mainstream feminism, is a main branch of feminism defined by its focus on achieving gender equality through political and legal reform within the framework of liberal democracy and informed by a human rights perspective. It is often considered culturally progressive and economically center-right to center-left. As the oldest of the "Big Three" schools of feminist thought, liberal feminism has its roots in 19th century first-wave feminism seeking recognition of women as equal citizens, focusing particularly on women's suffrage and access to education, the effort associated with 19th century liberalism and progressivism. Liberal feminism "works within the structure of mainstream society to integrate women into that structure." Liberal feminism places great emphasis on the public world, especially laws, political institutions, education and working life, and considers the denial of equal legal and political rights as the main obstacle to equality. As such liberal feminists have worked to bring women into the political mainstream. Liberal feminism is inclusive and socially progressive, while broadly supporting existing institutions of power in liberal democratic societies, and is associated with centrism and reformism. Liberal feminism tends to be adopted by white middle-class women who do not disagree with the current social structure; Zhang and Rios found that liberal feminism with its focus on equality is viewed as the dominant and "default" form of feminism. Liberal feminism actively supports men's involvement in feminism and both women and men have always been active participants in the movement; progressive men had an important role alongside women in the struggle for equal political rights since the movement was launched in the 19th century.
Susan Maree Ryan was an Australian politician and public servant. She was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and held ministerial office in the Hawke government as Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women (1983–1988), Minister for Education and Youth Affairs (1983–1984), Minister for Education (1984–1987) and Special Minister of State (1987–1988). She was the first woman from the ALP to serve in cabinet and was notably involved in the creation of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and the Affirmative Action Act 1986. Ryan served as a senator for the Australian Capital Territory from 1975 to 1987. After leaving politics she served as the Age Discrimination Commissioner from 2011 to 2016, within the Australian Human Rights Commission.
The President's Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) was established to advise the President of the United States on issues concerning the status of women. It was created by John F. Kennedy's Executive Order 10980 signed December 14, 1961. In 1975 it became the National Association of Commissions for Women.
Group 8 was a feminist organization in Sweden, founded by eight women in Stockholm in 1968. The organization took up various feminist issues such as: demands for expansions of kindergartens, 6-hour working day, equal pay for equal work and opposition to pornography. Initially the organization was based in Stockholm, but later local groups were founded throughout the country. Although Group 8 dissolved in the early 2000s, their influence on feminism in Sweden is still prevalent.
Business and Professional Women's Foundation (BPW) is an organization established for workforce development programs and workplace policies to acknowledge the needs of working women, communities, and businesses. It supports the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs.
The Non-Custodial Parents Party was a minor political party in Australia registered between 1999 and 2020. It supported less government control of many aspects of daily family life, focusing on reform of family law and child support.
In many countries, women have been underrepresented in the government and different institutions. As of 2019, women were still underrepresented, but were increasingly being elected to be heads of state and government.
Women in conservatism in the United States have advocated for social, political, economic, and cultural conservative policies since anti-suffragism. Leading conservative women such as Phyllis Schlafly have expressed that women should embrace their privileged essential nature. This thread of belief can be traced through the anti-suffrage movement, the Red Scare, and the Reagan Era, and is still present in the 21st century, especially in several conservative women's organizations such as Concerned Women for America and the Independent Women's Forum.
The term 'political participation' has a wide meaning. It relates to not only the right to vote, but also participation in the decision-making process, political activism, and political consciousness, among others.
Australia has a long-standing association with the protection and creation of women's rights. Australia was the second country in the world to give women the right to vote and the first to give women the right to be elected to a national parliament. The Australian state of South Australia, then a British colony, was the first parliament in the world to grant some women full suffrage rights. Australia has since had multiple notable women serving in public office as well as other fields. In Australia, European women were granted the right to vote and to be elected at federal elections in 1902.
Feminism in Sweden is a significant social and political influence within Swedish society. Swedish political parties across the political spectrum commit to gender-based policies in their public political manifestos. The Swedish government assesses all policy according to the tenets of gender mainstreaming. Women in Sweden are 45% of the political representatives in the Swedish Parliament. Women make up 43% of representatives in local legislatures as of 2014. In addition, in 2014, newly sworn in Foreign Minister Margot Wallström announced a feminist foreign policy.
Labor feminism was a women's movement in the United States that emerged in the 1920s, focused on gaining rights in the workplace and unions. Labor feminists advocated for protectionist legislation and special benefits for women, a variant of social feminism. They helped pass state laws regulating working conditions for women, expanded women's participation in unions, and organized to oppose the Equal Rights Amendment.
Mary Owen, OAM was an Australian feminist, unionist, and activist.
Feminism in South Africa concerns the organised efforts to improve the rights of the girls and women of South Africa. These efforts are largely linked to issues of feminism and gender equality on one hand, and racial equality and the political freedoms of African and other non-White South African ethnic groups on the other. Early feminist efforts concerned the suffrage of White women, allowing them to vote in elections beginning from 1930s, and significant activism in the 1950s to demand equal pay of men and women. The 1980s were a major turning point in the advancement of South African women, and in 1994, following the end of the apartheid regime, the status of women was bolstered by changes to the country's constitution. Since the end of apartheid, South African feminism is a contribution associated with the liberation and democratization of the country, however, the movement still struggles with the embedded conservative and patriarchal views within some segments of South African society.
This is a Timeline of second-wave feminism, from its beginning in the mid-twentieth century, to the start of Third-wave feminism in the early 1990s.
The Australian Sex Party was an Australian political party founded in 2009 in response to concerns over the purported increasing influence of religion in Australian politics. The party was born out of an adult-industry lobby group, the Eros Association. Its leader, Fiona Patten, was formerly the association's CEO.
The Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL) in New Zealand was a non-partisan feminist lobby organisation founded in 1975. From the 1970s to the 1990s it worked for greater participation of women in local and national politics. WEL educated and supported women to stand for election, lobbied and advocated for women, and monitored legislation and the media to make sure women's concerns were addressed. It supported the introduction of the proportional representation voting system in 1996 on the grounds that it would lead to greater representation of women in parliament.
The Women's Party was an Australian political party which was registered on 20 February 2019. Its policies relate to women's rights, such as equal representation of women in parliament and equal pay. It also supports anti-corruption policies, the rights of First Nations and indigenous Australians, and action on climate change. It was founded by transgender woman Divvi de Vendre, who was the party's lead candidate for the Senate in the 2019 federal election. The party's constitution stipulated that all positions within the party executive were only to be held by women.
The Women's Party is a South Korean single-issue political party founded on International Women's Day 2020 that advocates for feminism. The party calls for greater representation of women and equality in politics and an end to all forms of violence, discrimination and inequality against women in the workplace.
