Capitalism and Gender Equality

The United States prides itself on it's strength, it's stability, it's power. There is no doubt that United States emulates the ideal of capitalism and is a country who promotes equality not only on its own soil, but also in foreign nations, namely in the Middle East. However, the country still has far to go as far as equality between men and women; this is contrary to many other developed countries, most of whom have managed to bridge the gender gap to a considerable degree. What is the main difference between the United States and many of the highly developed countries of Europe? I would argue that it the system of government. There is a large difference between the capitalism of the United States and the democratic socialism typical of the progressive nations of Europe, such as Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

It is important to define capitalism and democratic socialism. Capitalism is an economic system where “the market forces determine what is produced (supply will meet demand), goods will be produced at the lowest possible cost and only those and are able and willing to pay 'the market price' will gain access to these goods” (University of Notre Dame). In a capitalist system enterprises are privately owned and operated. Democratic socialism is a system in which there is “popular, democratic control over the allocation of capital” (University of Wisconsin). Nations which emulate the capitalist model, namely the United States, tend to provide less social welfare and less educational aid than their democratic socialist counterparts. According to research and observation, the capitalist system also seems to be less effective in creating gender equality.

For example, countries which emulate the system of democratic socialism, such as Sweden and Denmark, have a higher margin of women represented in government and in education. In 2012, women made up 43% of the parliament in Sweden, compared with the United States, where women made up only 16.6% of congress (Women in the United States Congress: 1917-2012, Congressional Research Institute). In Sweden, two thirds of college degrees are awarded to women, where in the United States, women comprise 58% of all graduates (2010) (Institute of Educational Sciences). Bloomberg Newsweek presented a report which measured and ranked 143 nations based on gender equality. The countries were evaluated based on life expectancy, salary parody, access to high-skilled jobs, access to basic and higher education and the representation of women in the government. Surprise, topping the list were the democratic socialist countries (in order) of Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden. The United States was ranked 19, not a shameful ranking, but for the most powerful and democratic nation in the world, one would expect more.

This is not an argument for socialism, it is simply observing the difference in gender equality in two very different systems. I do not believe that is the system of democratic socialism which is the cause of such equality, it is the ideas of the system- the idea of collectiveness and sharing which by definition would prevent gender inequality. Even in nations which lean heavily towards capitalism (but retain some basic ideas of socialism, such as nationalized healthcare), such as Canada, have more gender parody than the United States. Because socialist principles are still retained to some degree, the ideas are also retained to some degree- the idea that helping to collective group also benefits the individual. Capitalism is an effective system which motivates its subjects to work and invent, to compete and to improve. In the United States this is especially true. Would the Wright Brothers have been motivated to create the airplane? Would Ford have worked to create an affordable automobile? Would facebook exist? I would argue that capitalism is the reason for these creations, which have added to the world in innumerable ways. However, this competition prevents the creation of nationalized healthcare (healthcare organizations have the right to compete for customers) and highly aided institutions of higher learning (these schools have the right to compete for students as well as for teachers based on salary and tuition). The competition and the strength of capitalist ideology demand extreme individualism and therefore people are less willing to open up opportunities to others (this would encroach on their ability to succeed). The system has no doubt prevented rapid progression of rights for women.

How do we resolve this issue? How do we blend the wonderful results of capitalism (the inventions, the work ethic, the economic growth and power) with the gender parody resulting from democratic socialism? This is especially difficult when the idea of socialism is considered 'radical' and 'dangerous' in capitalist nations (not irrationally, considering examples of failed socialist governments turned into totalitarian regimes). Women in the United States have worked towards equality and have made great gains, even within such a system. I have to argue that in order to retain it's level of power, women of the United States may have to continue to work towards gender parody in the same manner as in the past.