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During the last few monthe women's liberation groups have had a good deal of coverage on T.V., radio and in the press; perhaps an indication that the general movement has grown to an extent where it can no longer be ignored but has not yet reached a stage at which it appears to be a threat to the established order of things in this society. Sparked off by the Eord women'g strike in 1968 and influenced by the women's liberation movement in the U.D., the women's groups which have developed in Britain have had a variety of aims and targets for action. Nevertheless co-ordination between the various groupings has developed and the work to build the March 6th demonstration is a clear example of this.
At this time i1 seems appropriate to ask what part Socialist Woman and the socialist women's groups have to play within the women's liberation movement. I have tried to examine in some detail elsewhere the main features of the exploitation of women in this society, and Lo draw some conelusions for our practical orientation from this analysis.* Here I simply want to draw out some of the main points.
* See article in forthcoming International. female manual workers was CIO.Be while for male manual workers it was more than twice as much, C22.4s for a full week'g work in both cases); they do largely unskilled work, have fewer chances of promotion or training or of access to more interesting and responsible jobs than men. However, these inequalities are not equally shared by all women; the worst aituation is that of working classwomen; the wives of the wealthy are cushioned by material advantages which derive from the exploitation of others. In Britain no attempt to unite can be justified as a means to liberation; the right of women to be managing directors, or to enter the stock exchange, has no part in our campaign.
The economic subordination of women is traditionnily justified because it is made to appear "natural", an inevitable part of the condition of being female. Sir Joh Newsom has argued that the main social function of vomen is to provide a secure and comfortable home and to be mothera. Thus the possibility of pregnancy, the responsibilities of motherhood are interpreted as meaning that women must be unreliable employees, less worthy of lengthy education or training or promotion than men. Because women hear children it is assumed that they must always be the ones to care for them and this requires almost exelusive and intensive attention for several years.
In addition to the handicaps which motherhood (and as all women are regarded as potential mothers this is a handicap which
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