Summary: A Day Without Feminism

In the reading, A Day Without Feminism, the authors, Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, illustrate what our modern world would be like had there never been a women’s movement. Taking us back to 1970, a view is given that many of us do not think about in our daily lives and thus; Baumgardner and Richards show us why it is so important to have a women’s moment to continue to build on what the strong women before us have accomplished so far.
It is important to be reminded that women were looked at by society as being property to men, earning very little to no respect. Baumgardner and Richards state, “Without a male escort she may be refused service in a restaurant or a bar, and a woman alone is hard-pressed to find a landlord who will rent her an apartment.” (47) It is also noted that women made about half in wages as male counterparts and that job security was never affirmed.
The way a woman looks is still very important when it comes to getting and sometimes keeping a job. There are now law to prevent women from being fired from their jobs for being pregnant; however, a majority of employers are not giving paid maternity leave. Making it difficult for women to get the full twelve weeks of healing from childbirth and bonding with their new child. The gender wage gap may not be near half to that of male counterparts, but there is a significant difference in pay. Finally, women do not have to be escorted by a male in order to be served in a restaurant or bar or to rent from a landlord. Females may still find that they are still treated with less respect than males are and that in order to get the same pricing or listened to they may still need a male to “make sure they are not getting taken advantage of.” There is still a long way to go in order to be seen as equal and to be given the same opportunities as our male