Women’s Agency in a Context of Oppression: Assessing Strategies for Personal Action and Public Policy
Author(s)
Chetkovich, Carol
Abstract
Popular debates about “victim feminism” have receded but underlying concerns about the extent of gender inequality and usefulness of strategies highlighting difference are still relevant. This paper applies Susan Wendell’s framework–relating to women’s agency under conditions of oppression–to the experience of women firefighters. The framework fits well, but one case reveals the need to modify it by attending to community. An elaboration of the framework is then used to examine four policy issues.
