Difference Between Feminism and Gender Equality

Main Difference – Feminism vs Gender Equality

Both feminism and gender equality are concerned with women’s rights in the society. Feminist is an umbrella term that refers to a variety of political and social movements and ideologies. The main aim of feminism is to provide equal rights and opportunities for women. Gender equality is the view that everyone should receive equal treatment and that there should not be any discrimination based on gender. The main difference between feminism and gender equality is that feminism is a collection of social and political movements whereas gender equality is the main goal of feminism.

What is Feminism

Feminism refers to a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements that share the common goal of defining, establishing, and achieving political, economic, personal, and social rights for women that are equal to those of men. Feminist movements’ main concern is women. They campaign to bring equal rights and opportunities for women.

Feminist movements campaign for women’s rights. Examples of some of these rights include the right to vote, to receive education, to own property, to work, to hold public office, to earn fair wages, to have equal rights in a marriage. Feminists also work to protect women and girls from sexual abuse, harassment, and domestic violence. Feminist movements can be identified as one of the main causes for the social changes regarding women’s rights.

What is Gender Equality

Gender equality is a view that everyone should be treated equally without any regard to their gender. According to the Oxford dictionary, gender equality as the state in which access to rights or opportunities is unaffected by gender. As explained above, feminism movement attempts to advocate gender equality in the society. However, feminism, as the name implies, is mainly concerned with securing the rights of women. Feminism and gender equality is often considered to be the same because protecting the rights of women can to a great extent create gender equality in the society since it is the women that are often victimized by gender discrimination.

Gender equality is also one of the main objectives of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It seeks to create equality in social conditions and law, such as in securing equal pay for equal work. UNICEF states that gender equality “means that women and men, and girls and boys, enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections. It does not require that girls and boys, or women and men, be the same, or that they be treated exactly alike.”