Gender Inequalities In Sylvia Walby

Inequalities between genders has existed as long as a society has. Feminism, a movement focused on leveling the playing field for both sexes emerged in the late 18th century. One of the ideas surfaced from the feminist movement was the concept of the Patriarchy. Patriarchy is defined as: a system of society in which men hold the power and the women are excluded from it. Sylvia Walby, a British sociologist and professor has been studying the relationship between gender inequalities and the overall structure of society. According to Walby, in order to fully understand gender inequality in society, one must understand the concept of the patriarchy. Walby believes that patriarchy is, “a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress, and exploit women through societal structures” (Walby 96). The patriarchal structures that Walby refers to are: paid work, the family household, the state, male violence, cultural institutions, and attitudes towards sexuality all seek to trample on gender equality in a society.

From the Women’s Suffrage movement in the late 18th century, up until present day, women have been gaining more rights outside of the household. Walby notes that even though women were gaining legal rights they were still held back and oppressed in their own households. Walby refers to the household structure as a “patriarchal mode of production”, which in her terms means that the structure “undervalues the work of housewives” and “undervaluing women in this role”. To make this concept easier to understand, Walby uses Marxist terms, to help illustrate what she means. Walby calls the women in these households “the producing class” and the husbands in this structure as the “ruling class”. Meaning, the wives in these households produce (perform domestic duties) while the husbands do nothing (Walby