Women and Economics: A Study of the Economic Relation Between Men and Women as a Factor in Social Evolution

The position of women as the property of men, their inability to earn in proportion to the amount of work they do, and the very devaluation of their work, all tend to the exaggerated social differences between men as "providers" and "competitors" and women as "helpless" and "unproductive." These differences lead to social dysfunction and ultimately to the destruction of the bond that ought to exist between and unite the sexes. Gilman's classic plea for greater parity for men and women still speaks directly to the problems women continue to face in the workplace as well as to the ways men view women.