Hillary Clinton is in the middle of an intense battle to become Commander-in-Chief of one of the most powerful and influential nations on earth. As President, Clinton promises to take on the arduous task of eradicating gender inequality in America. Clinton’s campaign started in earnest back in 2007 as she kicked off her first presidential bid by stating, “I’m not just starting a campaign I’m beginning a conversation (Davisson, A. 2009, P. 75).” The Feminist conversation is as old as civilization. It is about women’s equality of rights, opportunity, pay, and sharing of the responsibility society’s direction. Therefore, empowering women to have an equal voice in the making of laws, policies, and economic direction of their country is of essential
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Clinton embraces the goal of women’s equality, while Margaret Thatcher showed contempt for the feminist movement. According to feminist and social activist Natasha Walter, ‘Thatcher was no feminist: she had no interest in social equality, she knew nothing of female solidarity (Walter, N. 2012).’ Thatcher appointed one woman during her term as Prime Minister. Conservative MP Laura Sandys states, “Her political power was never expressed in terms of battling against the male establishment, but as a political personality who dominated the masculine, clubby power structures that she inherited (Walter, N. 2012).” Whereas, Clinton wanted to smash the Glass Ceiling, the Guardian’s Hadley Freeman states, ‘Far from 'smashing the glass ceiling ', Thatcher made it through and pulled the ladder up after her (Freeman, H. 2013).’ Consequently, Thatcher spent over 33 years in government and ten of those years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom she had minimal effect on gender equality and neither did she care. In the eyes of two nations, these brilliant and driven political leaders have one thing in common. Hillary Clinton and Margaret Thatcher both seem to have made strategic alliances with the very patriarchal society women fight valiantly against. It would be easy to assume that once again the male-dominated institutions of two wealthy countries have won another victory against gender equality. Yet, as we have seen, both have enjoyed enormous political
Clinton embraces the goal of women’s equality, while Margaret Thatcher showed contempt for the feminist movement. According to feminist and social activist Natasha Walter, ‘Thatcher was no feminist: she had no interest in social equality, she knew nothing of female solidarity (Walter, N. 2012).’ Thatcher appointed one woman during her term as Prime Minister. Conservative MP Laura Sandys states, “Her political power was never expressed in terms of battling against the male establishment, but as a political personality who dominated the masculine, clubby power structures that she inherited (Walter, N. 2012).” Whereas, Clinton wanted to smash the Glass Ceiling, the Guardian’s Hadley Freeman states, ‘Far from 'smashing the glass ceiling ', Thatcher made it through and pulled the ladder up after her (Freeman, H. 2013).’ Consequently, Thatcher spent over 33 years in government and ten of those years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom she had minimal effect on gender equality and neither did she care. In the eyes of two nations, these brilliant and driven political leaders have one thing in common. Hillary Clinton and Margaret Thatcher both seem to have made strategic alliances with the very patriarchal society women fight valiantly against. It would be easy to assume that once again the male-dominated institutions of two wealthy countries have won another victory against gender equality. Yet, as we have seen, both have enjoyed enormous political