Girls Who Code, a feminist organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in tech, has previously partnered with companies like Meta and the Boston Consulting Group for opportunities in augmented reality, music and interview prep.
While her words held a lot of validity, I questioned whether her line of work followed suit. And yes, making workplaces pay up,” when referring to government accountability. It should be providing healthcare and childcare, saving our planet and our democracy, making the rich pay their fair share. She stated, “ should be doing a hell of a lot more. Nonprofit organizations and programs that purport to empower young girls to break into male-dominated fields can also produce similar outcomes.įor example, Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code, made powerful statements about accountability and activism at Yale’s 2022 commencement ceremony. Putting a woman in a position of power doesn’t guarantee she’ll make “feminist decisions.” From sweatshop factories to sex work, girlboss feminism tends to further marginalize and profit off these gendered and harmful types of labor. Oftentimes gaining power in this capitalist context comes at the expense of other women, as well. It’s not questioning the structure of capitalism or structural violence, but rather gaining power within those systems to beat the man. While Amoruso succeeded, it came from underpaying and exploiting impoverished communities - the epitome of girlboss feminism. Additionally, the workers were paid as little at $4.40 an hour.” The report revealed that the factory did not follow social distancing guidelines and workers were expected to continue working even after testing positive for the coronavirus. The Daily Northwestern reported that “In June 2020, reports of unsafe working conditions and insufficient pay in factories that supply Boohoo, Nasty Gal’s parent company, emerged. She encouraged women to be unapologetically ambitious, oppose masculinity in power and gain capital as a form of feminist activism.Īlthough she succeeded, her fortune was built on anti-feminist beliefs. The term girlboss was coined by Sophia Amoruso, founder of Nasty Gal, an author and “girl boss” who made a fortune building an empire of fast fashion. To succeed in the game of capitalism, there must always be a loser for there to be a winner - and oftentimes women are the losers. Girlboss feminism fails to address one key issue: how can we be empowered at the expense of exploitation?
This all sounds empowering and liberating, so what’s the problem? It’s not what women can do for capitalism, but what capitalism can do for women. From Wall Street to Big Tech, women are encouraged to “girlboss their way to the top” and take over the public sphere. Female CEOs and entrepreneurs have been pushing for women to go into male-dominated industries and reach positions of power. Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss - it seems like that’s the new mainstream motto for women’s empowerment.
0 kommentar(er)
