France ranks 46th in theWorld Economic Forum’s 2010 gender equality report, trailing the United States, most of Europe, but also Kazakhstan and Jamaica.
I find this article rather surprising since I always assumed that France, a country built on Enlightenment ideals such as equality, had less of a patriarchal society. Specifically, it seems obvious that women in France occupy a subordinate role in society and in the family. Clearly, some of them are not content with their subordination and the gaudy expectations placed on them. Perhaps, it is time for French women to look to the American Women's Movement for inspiration, much like their French forefathers looked to the American Revolution as a source of inspiration. Although American women have not achieved full equality (however one defines it), they clearly do not occupy the same subordinate role they did a few decades ago. Surely, French women are equally capable of significantly altering the status quo.
I find this article rather surprising since I always assumed that France, a country built on Enlightenment ideals such as equality, had less of a patriarchal society. Specifically, it seems obvious that women in France occupy a subordinate role in society and in the family. Clearly, some of them are not content with their subordination and the gaudy expectations placed on them. Perhaps, it is time for French women to look to the American Women's Movement for inspiration, much like their French forefathers looked to the American Revolution as a source of inspiration. Although American women have not achieved full equality (however one defines it), they clearly do not occupy the same subordinate role they did a few decades ago. Surely, French women are equally capable of significantly altering the status quo.
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