John Stuart Mill s Women - 1002 Words

Feminist to the Highest Degree John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, and most surprising to me, a feminist. He believed that the common notion that women are inferior to men â€Å"ought to be replaced by a principle of perfect equality, admitting no power or privilege on the one side, nor disability on the other.† This principle is definitely something I can stand behind, and I have to say I was overjoyed to read Mill’s The Subjection of Women. While discussing feminism, it is important to discuss why equal rights to women are so important. Although most of John Stuart Mill’s arguments have become invalid due to the progression of feminism, it is still important to bring up some of his†¦show more content†¦However, not all of Mill’s positions on feminism have come to be. He was very strong in his opinion that women should have equal opportunities in society, and well that hasn’t happened yet. Curren tly men occupy the top rungs of every industry in the world, and women only hold 1 in 4 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) jobs. Women are vastly underrepresented in the work force and that is something that definitely needs to change. One of the arguments against this is that women aren’t being prevented from holding more high profile careers, they are just choosing not to. This is true, but that doesn’t take all aspects into consideration. From a young age girls are pushed to stay within their gender roles, and that does not include any STEM activities, just cooking and playing dolls. I’ve experienced this myself, as I had wanted to major in Political Science but was told not to because it would be too challenging for me. When I ultimately decided upon social work (not because it was easier, but because it is something I see myself happier with), I was actually told that â€Å"it was good I decided to settle and take a woman’s job. † Gender roles are also an important part of feminism, and it is becoming quite a hot topic. People are starting to realize that pushing gender roles on children has led to boys that refuse to show emotion and girls that feel inadequate. It is because of