Equality and difference

Contemporary feminist political theory has as a central theme the relationship between equality and difference. These are seen as contradictory for two reasons. First, the dominant liberal problematic sees equality as implying sameness, and therefore as opposed to difference. Second, the practical issues which are being theorized are those of the implementation of ‘equal opportunities’ in segmented labour markets where men and women compete under plainly unequal conditions, so that there is a practical contradiction between claims for equality and the recognition of the specific needs resulting from the reality of women's lives. Feminists seek a basis on which they can claim treatment which is fair; equality cannot mean sameness where there is a difference of circumstance (women become pregnant, men do not; women have responsibility for childcare which men do not have in the same way or to the same extent). The centrality of ‘difference’ also derives from the influence of French feminisms, where sexual difference is in various ways seen as the basis of women's identity. Difference is also prioritized in order not to impose the values and concerns of white, western middle-class feminists upon others. Postmodern theorists see the differences among women as sufficient to deconstruct the category ‘woman’ altogether. Contemporary British theorists seek to resolve the perceived tension between equality and difference by reference to alternative values of justice, fairness and parity. ¹ In the 1990s, unlike the 1970s or the 1830s, they rarely challenge the existence of labour markets and capitalist economies, and less and less attention is given to the question of domestic labour.