“It’s the economy, stupid” is a classic expression from Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign. But the question is if feminists all too often make the same mistake as the Bush campaign and disregard the importance of money.
I am convinced that most women have strong memories of their first self-made money. Some of these stories are life-changing. We should all carry these stories as a part of our history and political knowledge. Stories of how a first job outside the house gave her self-esteem and the financial possibility to divorce from a dysfunctional marriage. Stories of how a job at a bank in a bigger city also led to a life with more freedom. Women all over the world make these journeys of freedom every day. And as liberals, we need to make sure that even more women will enjoy the liberty you get from earning your own money.
My feminist predecessors in Sweden were right when they, in the 1960s, focused on the economy. Their demands were separate taxation (as opposed to being taxed jointly with their spouse), the right to full-time work as well as quality childcare. The results came immediately. The share of married women in the workforce increased from 50 per cent to more than 80 within a decade of the introduction of individual taxation in the beginning of the 1970s.
Liberal feminists have always viewed financial independence as the starting point for giving women the freedom to shape their dreams. But recently the feminist debate has all too often focussed on other issues, such as the female body and beauty myths. These are also important issues. However, they do not make as concrete a difference in women’s lives as earning your own money does.
It is time to go back to basics again. We have the knowledge. Highly educated European housewives constitute a lack of freedom on not just an individual level, but also on an international level in terms of a substantial financial loss for the European Union. The same is true for other regions in the world. We know that there is a strong correlation between individual taxation and female participation in the workforce. We know that high-quality childcare and a more equal distribution of unpaid work between men and women makes it easier for women to go to work. There should be no argument between feminists on this matter.
In politics I have a saying: “Match your history, lead your present and earn your future”. The feminists of today have a lot to live up to in this field. The defence of a woman’s right to her body, knowledge and struggle, is of utmost importance. But one must not forget the economy. Women working and earning their own money is the foundation of female emancipation. As the bestselling author Candace Bushnell so accurately described it: There is nothing better than spending your own hard-earned money.
Birgitta Ohlsson
Former minister of EU Affairs, Sweden
