Why Socialism is the Only Path to Women’s Emancipation

Introduction

In mainstream discourse, women’s rights are often framed in terms of representation—more female CEOs, more female politicians, more women in STEM. But while capitalism may allow individual women to rise through the ranks, it cannot eliminate the systemic oppression that working-class women face daily. True women’s liberation is not just about breaking glass ceilings—it’s about tearing down the economic and social structures that hold women back.

To understand why socialism is the only path to women’s emancipation, we must first examine the material basis of women’s oppression.

A Materialist History of Women’s Oppression 

The earliest human societies were organized as small tribes of hunter-gatherers. These societies were communal and cooperative. Labor was shared, and women played active roles in food gathering, decision-making, and social life. There was no rigid gender hierarchy, because there was no private property to pass down. Women were not confined to domestic labor—they were equal participants in the survival of their communities. Social reproduction and child-rearing was largely carried out on a communal basis.

This all changed with the agricultural revolution. The development of agriculture led to the emergence of private property. For the first time, wealth could be accumulated, and men sought to pass it down to their biological heirs. This marked the beginning of women’s oppression. In ancient agricultural societies, women were increasingly confined to the home, their autonomy stripped away, and their primary role reduced to reproducing and raising the next generation of laborers.

Under feudalism, women were legally bound to their husbands and performed unpaid domestic labor while men controlled economic production. Capitalism intensified this exploitation by forcing women into wage labor while still expecting them to perform unpaid domestic work — what Marxists call the “double burden.”

Women’s oppression is therefore not natural or eternal—it is a direct result of class society and private property. As long as wealth and power remain concentrated in the hands of a few, women will continue to be exploited as workers, caregivers, and reproducers of labor power. The only way to achieve full liberation is to abolish private property and end class divisions.

Bourgeois Feminism: Seeking Liberation Within Capitalism

The attempt to draw parallels between the Palestinian struggle and that of African-Americans, Native-Americans, and Ukrainian nationalists is politically misguided for two reasons. First, this approach relies on building arguments by analogy, which has the tendenacy to obscure differences between cases. This leaves us unable to understand the unique reality of Palestine on its own terms. Second, drawing parallels between Palestine and other liberal identity groups invites opportunities for Zionist co-optation.

Mainstream feminism focuses on individual success—getting more women into boardrooms, politics, and leadership roles. But this does nothing to address the fundamental structures of oppression. Instead, it creates a privileged class of wealthy women who now exploit poor and working-class women.

Take, for example, female CEOs. They may have broken through the “glass ceiling,” but they still profit from the low-wage labor of women in sweatshops, domestic workers, and underpaid service employees. A system where women can become exploiters does not end oppression—it simply diversifies who holds power.

Many feminist movements today argue that women should have the same opportunities as men to succeed in capitalism. But this merely ensures that women get an “equal” share in an exploitative system. What does it matter if women earn the same as men if both are underpaid and overworked? What does it matter if more women become billionaires when billions of women still live in poverty?

Intersectional Imperialism: When Feminism Becomes a Tool for War

Capitalist states have learned to weaponize feminist rhetoric to justify imperialist wars and neoliberal policies. 

Is it feminist when female politicians in America advocate for war and sanctions that devastate women in the Global South?

Was it feminist when the U.S. used women’s rights as a pretext for invading Afghanistan, only to abandon Afghan women once geopolitical interests shifted?

Is it feminist that female military leaders oversee drone strikes that kill innocent women and children abroad?

A feminism that ignores class struggle and imperialism is not truly liberating — it is merely a justification for oppression.

Socialism as the Only Path to Women’s Liberation

Under socialism, wealth and production are collectively owned, eliminating the economic conditions that force women into dependency and exploitation. Women would no longer have to rely on men for economic security, as employment, housing, and financial stability would be guaranteed for all. Domestic labor, which has historically been a source of unpaid and undervalued work for women, would be socialized—childcare, healthcare, and household responsibilities would become public goods rather than private burdens placed on individuals. Instead of being forced to juggle low-wage jobs and unpaid domestic labor, women would have the freedom to fully participate in social and economic life on equal footing. With guaranteed jobs, housing, education, and healthcare, economic independence would no longer be a privilege but a fundamental right, ensuring that women’s liberation is not just an abstract ideal but a concrete reality.

Historical Proof: The Achievements of Socialist States

Historically, socialist revolutions have led to enormous gains for women’s rights, demonstrating that meaningful liberation cannot be achieved within capitalism. 

In the Soviet Union, women secured legal rights that were unheard of in capitalist countries at the time, including the legalization of abortion, paid maternity leave, and guaranteed economic security through state-provided employment and social services. The USSR also prioritized women’s education, workplace participation, and political engagement, breaking many of the barriers that had confined women to domestic life. 

In Cuba and China, socialist policies significantly improved literacy rates, healthcare, and employment opportunities for women, lifting millions out of poverty and ensuring that their basic needs were met. 

These advances stand in stark contrast to capitalist countries, where women continue to be underpaid, overworked, and subjected to economic precarity. Even in the most developed capitalist economies, women face persistent wage gaps, insufficient parental leave policies, and barriers to healthcare, proving that as long as profit remains the driving force of society, women’s rights will always be secondary to capital accumulation.

 The historical achievements of socialist states provide a blueprint for genuine women’s liberation—one rooted in collective ownership, economic security, and common prosperity.

The Fight Today: Reclaiming the Socialist Tradition of Women’s Liberation

Women’s oppression is not inevitable. It is a product of class society, rooted in private property and economic exploitation. 

Under capitalism, efforts to improve the conditions of women are inherently limited because they do not challenge the system that subjugates the vast majority of working women. Instead, they often focus on integrating a select few women into the ranks of the ruling class while leaving the fundamental structures of exploitation intact. 

Meanwhile, imperialism has cynically appropriated the language of women’s rights to justify war, economic sanctions, and corporate expansion, all while disregarding the suffering of women in the Global South. 

True liberation requires an anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist approach, recognizing that women’s liberation cannot exist in a world where wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of the ruling class. Socialism offers the only real path to liberation, as it eliminates private property, guarantees economic security, and dismantles the material conditions that sustain women’s subordination.

The struggle is not about achieving equal participation within an exploitative capitalist system but about overturning that system entirely. To achieve real change, it is essential to engage in class-conscious organizing, study the lessons of past socialist movements, and reject the capitalist co-optation of social struggles. 

Women’s liberation is inseparable from the broader fight against class exploitation, and only through socialism can a truly just and equal society be realized.