Research Paper on Feminist Movements: The Fight for Gender Equality and Beyond

Introduction

Feminist movements are the programs that have been put across to campaign for equality of women globally. The movement was first founded by Mary Wollstonecraft in the year 1972. The aims of feminist movements include equal employment, provision of maternity leave, and elimination of sexual harassment. Feminist movements are also significant because they fight against human trafficking and eradication of a wider gap in the workplace. There were several factors which necessitated women to engage in feminist movements. Denial to exercise human rights is one of the factors that motivated women to join the movement since the institutions in charge of them deny the right to vote. Sexual harassment is another factor that contributed a lot when it comes to feminist movements since most of the women received unfair treatment in their workplace. A wider gap in wage sharing is also another factor that has led to the formation of feminist movements because women are usually subjected to low wages regardless of their hard work. Most of the organizations rarely include women in the leadership position, and this has led to the emergency of feminist women. The paper will discuss in detail on the feminist movements.

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Feminist movements have played a key role in the achievement of equity. The feminist movements have adopted various strategies to enhance their efficiency. Governmental and non-governmental organizations have been widely used so as to achieve equality across gender. The majority of the governments have set aside some money so as to fund the individuals who are raising awareness about fairness. Non-governmental organizations are also working to ensure equality in all groups of people, regardless of their sexes. Feminist movements have also been aided by organizations such as the United Nations women, gender at work, rise up, women worldwide, amnesty international, and an international alliance of women. Waves also played a significant role in the achievement of equity among women. Some of the waves which were associated with feminist movements include; first-wave, second-wave, third-wave, and fourth-wave (Rampton, 2015).

The Organization that Advocates for Feminist Movements

UN Women

This union of the organization was formed in order to fight against all forms of discrimination, especially those that are related to gender-based. The UN women perform their tasks by adhering to human rights such that women are given equal rights, for instance, greater participation in leadership. UN Women has also set up some policies with the aim of safeguarding human rights, thus promoting humanity.

Rise Up

Rise up is another institution that has been formed so as to put more concern on the issues affecting women. These organizations have brought a lot of changes by encouraging inclusivity and urging the government to be concern about women's health. The rise up has also empowered women to work towards the attainment of a common goal in their various societies.

Gender at Work

The feminist movements also fight against workplace discrimination as a way of advocating for equality. This has been achieved through fair treatment of workers and equal sharing of the available resources. Gender has also been enhanced in the workplace by providing a basis where workers can discuss their challenges, hence promoting a good relationship between the employers and the employees.

Amnesty International

Amnesty International consists of groups of individuals from different parts of the world, who fought for human rights. The movement is also working towards the attainment of a common goal by finding out some ways of how to cope with equality. Amnesty international assists in the feminist movements because it acts as a watchdog on those who are violating women's rights. Amnesty groups have also empowered women through the enactment of laws that can safeguard them from being discriminated against (Tesseur, 2015).

International Alliance of Women

This is an independent type of movement because it is a non-governmental organization. The role of the international alliance of women is to call out all women to team up so as advocates for their rights (Hall, 2015). The rights which are addressed by this movement include eradication of poverty and gender equality. It has only attained this by establishing some policies which adhere to women's rights, thus making them have equal rights.

Women Worldwide

This is an institution that has been set aside to ensure that women's rights are preserved and strictly adhered to. Women worldwide also provide women a chance to air out their problems, thus encouraging fairness. Women worldwide movements also empower women through the creation of more job opportunities.

Waves of Feminism

First-Wave (1848-1920)

First-wave of the feminist movement was practiced by the western people and thereafter spread all over the world. The movement at this stage was characterized by protests, lectures, arrests, and ridicules. Also, feminist movements were dominated by racial discrimination since white women were given first priority as compared to black women, especially when it comes to their protest. Black women were denied a right to demonstrate. Black women were supposed to follow the footprints of white women whenever they wanted to present their grievances. The aim of the first wave of feminism was to help the women to attain equality in leadership. First- wave advocated for a right to vote hence promoting human rights. Moreover, the women who participated in the establishment of first-wave contributed a lot by addressing religious and civil social rights of their respective gender. First-wave also fought for the provision of equal jobs, private ownership of properties, and more access to education. It also helped in discussing women's maternity, and it later resulted in the establishment of clinics hence leading to more convenient access to health care facilities.

The Second Wave (1963-1980)

Second-wave was created so as to cope with the problems of sexual harassment in the workplace. It also addresses discrimination such as domestic labor, the provision of equal payments across the gender, and the abolition of abortion laws. On the issue of domestic labor, the women who took part in campaigns for the provision of fair labor, especially among the housewives, thus leading to protection of their rights. Women were also interested in eradicating abortions hence safeguarding human life. Women campaigned for equal wages in order to gather for their basic needs. The second-wave also provided women with full rights of private ownership, especially when it comes to credit cards, thus enabling them to prosper easily. The wave also aims at settling down displaced women, therefore, promoting humanity in different communities. The uniqueness of the second-wave is that it has changed society's perceptions towards women by eradicating all forms of discrimination, for instance, rape. The limitation of the second- wave includes the wave being mostly practiced by the white women, graduates from colleges, and color based.

Third-Wave (1991)

This movement was more approachable when it comes to the discussions of issues affecting women due to the understanding that existed among the individuals involved. The main problem that was addressed at the third-wave was basically about harassment in the workplace. It advocated for the elimination of sexual harassment so as to create a conducive environment where all people have equal rights. The third-wave was also known because it campaigned for women empowerment through leadership and fighting against the challenges related to transgender, thereby enhancing equality of all sexes.

Fourth Wave

Fourth-wave was recognized since it deals with matters concerning sexual harassment, for instance, rape. It aims at reducing rape cases all over the world by enforcing laws such that an individual involved in a rape case must be accountable for his deeds (Munro, 2013). Fourth-wave also calls out all women to dress decently so as to avoid rape cases in their various communities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, feminist movements have played an essential role in the achievement of equity by ensuring fairness across gender. Feminist movements have also created forums where women can table their problems. Feminist movements have promoted accountability when it comes to leadership because it has encouraged inclusivity in the administration, thus enabling them to advocates for their rights. The campaigns for feminism have also led to the creation of waves that aims at safeguarding human rights hence eliminating all forms of discrimination. Women have also transformed through feminist movements since their obstacles have been gathered for, therefore empowering them to work towards the achievement of the common goals. Feminist movements have encouraged women to team up and fight against sexual violence at their different workplaces, for instance, rape, low wages, and unfair treatments hence making them feel proud of themselves despite their sexes.

References

Hall, R. J. (2015). Feminist strategies to end violence against women. The Oxford handbook of transnational feminist movements, 394-415.

Munro, E. (2013). Feminism: A fourth wave? Political insight, 4(2), 22-25.

Rampton, M. (2015). Four waves of feminism. Pacific University Oregon, 25.

Tesseur, W. (2015). Transformation through translation: translation policies at Amnesty International (Doctoral dissertation, Aston University).