Women Are Key to Transforming Society
Before the Middle-Class Women’s Workshop,[1] I imagined that men would be the major characters in transforming capitalism into a system based on what humans need. Diane[2] helped me realize that it will be females acting collectively that will make things right. We will be key to the transformation. We have the knowledge, will, and connections.
I love picturing all of us women around the world standing up and saying what needs to happen. To do that effectively, we can no longer dismiss or ignore women’s liberation. I was surprised to once again face how much I want to ignore it.
We can start by valuing unpaid work. (Diane clarified the difference between appreciating unpaid work and valuing it.) We often regard RC work as “extra.” This is an effect of capitalism—work is seen as less important if it doesn’t make a profit. It’s also a function of sexism, because much of the work in the RC Communities is regarded as “women’s work.”
It can be hard for men to value the work we do as RC leaders, because to play their role in capitalism they have been heavily conditioned to believe that paid work equals value.
It would be another step for us to communicate that the RC work we do is not just important to us individually; it’s at least as important to our families and communities. When I describe RC and my RC work, I can say that I play an important role. I can help people value it. I can even tell them that they benefit from my work! I will need sessions on my internalized oppression.
I have many more thoughts—but also a lot of unpaid work to do!
Holly Jorgenson
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail
discussion list for leaders of women
1] A workshop held in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, in February 2015
] Diane Balser, the International Liberation Reference Person for Women and the leader of the workshop