National Women's Political Caucus

Industrialism, or the movement from manufacturing objects at one’s home using simple tools to mass production of products in factories implementing specific machinery, began in Britain in the late 1700s. The emergence of factories created hundreds of jobs throughout Europe, and many women and children were hired to fill these jobs. However, hiring women was not a step toward equal representation in the workforce — rather, women were hired because, like children, managers could easily force them to work long hours and still pay them significantly less than their male coworkers.

Unfair treatment of women due to industrialism lead to the start of the women’s rights movement in the 1850s in Britain with leaders such as Emmeline Pankhurst, who fought for women’s right to vote. Another significant women’s rights movement arose in the 1960s in the U.S. due to the release of Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine Mystique, which discussed the lack of fulfillment women endured when society forced them to stay within their houses.

The feminist movement that resulted in led to the rise of many activists, such as Gloria Steinem, who focused on ensuring women’s equality in many aspects, but specifically within the workforce. While Emmeline Pankhurst and Gloria Steinem were from different feminist movements and used distinct methods to create change, they both became activists due to an event around them and moved from working with others to being leaders in the women’s rights movement.

Get quality help now

Bella Hamilton

Verified

Proficient in: Shirley Chisholm

5 (234)

“ Very organized ,I enjoyed and Loved every bit of our professional interaction ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

While Emmeline Pankhurst and Gloria Steinem were from separate periods in time, both had feminist views before a movement around them inspired them to become strong, independent, and powerful leaders of the women’s rights movement. For Pankhurst, this feminist movement was the Matchgirls’ strike in 1888 in Britain. While Pankhurst already supported women’s rights, she did not take any action until learning about the unfair treatment of the women working at the Bryant & May match factory. Not only were their wages low, but many women faced critical conditions and death due to the phosphorus used to make the matches, which was banned in Sweden and the USA due to its disastrous health effects (“Emmeline Pankhurst”, Spartacus Educational). Upon hearing of the horrid conditions of the women at the Bryant & May factory, Pankhurst was immediately moved to join their cause, stating in her autobiography, ‘I threw myself into this strike with enthusiasm, working with the girls and with some women of prominence, amongst these the celebrated Mrs. Annie Besant” (My Own Story, page 13). This strike opened up Pankhurst’s eyes to the unfairness around her and showed her how she could use her voice to make a difference. After the Matchgirls’ rally, Pankhurst became increasingly involved in the race for women’s rights, specifically on the topic of women’s right to vote, as this was a very important issue to her.

Similarly, Gloria Steinem already expressed feminist views before she entered the world of politics and women’s rights due to an event around her. Steinem demonstrated her perspective in her widely renowned article named: “After Black Power, Women’s Liberation”, which won her the Penney-Missouri Journalism Award in 1969 (‘Gloria Steinem’ The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: The 1960s). However, she did not consider a career as a women’s rights activist until watching a gathering of the Redstockings, a New York feminist group, in which they argued for abortion rights. Steinem told Glamor magazine in 2015, “Watching the abortion hearing, I had this feeling of sudden unity. Something you think has only been your experience, and maybe your fault, you suddenly realize is incredibly widespread”. Similar to how the treatment of women in the Bryant & May match factory was important to Emmeline Pankhurst, abortion was a significant issue to Steinem, especially since she related to the struggle of abortion (“Gloria Steinem on Why You Should Be a Feminist”, Glamour Videos). After observing the Redstocking’s rally, Steinem was immediately moved to begin using her voice as a writer to draw more attention to women’s rights, and quickly became a leader of the feminist movement.

While they focused on different aspects of feminism, Emmeline Pankhurst and Gloria Steinem both became hallmarks of the women’s rights movement by moving from working with others to becoming independent leaders. In 1889, Pankhurst began her life as an activist by founding the Women’s Franchise League with her husband, Richard. This decision was heavily opposed, with Queen Victoria labeling it as a “mad folly of Women’s Rights” (My Own Story, page 15). Despite this, Emmeline Pankhurst and her husband went on to establish a new branch of the Independent Labour Party, which they named the Social Democratic Federation. This new branch was more supportive of women’s rights and was more closely aligned with Emmeline’s views. However, after a new party did not express support on the subject of women’s right to vote, Emmeline Pankhurst decided to create a group of her own called the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Unlike her past actions, Pankhurst created this group without her husband due to his sudden death in 1898. Through WSPU, Emmeline Pankhurst finally had a platform of her own to hold rallies and lectures discussing equal voting rights. Additionally, Pankhurst now had a group of her own supporters to help her spread the word about women’s rights (“Emmeline Pankhurst”, Spartacus Educational). Thus, it was when Pankhurst created a group and vision of her own that she stopped being a follower and became both a true leader and the face of the women’s rights movement.

Likewise, Gloria Steinem started as an activist by founding groups with other individuals but eventually became a genuine leader by creating a unique, individualistic contribution to the women’s movement. In 1971, Steinem founded the National Women’s Political Caucus along with Betty Friedan, Bella Abzug, and Shirley Chisholm and the Women’s Action Alliance with Brenda Fiegen. However, Steinem was not considered a true leader in the public’s eye until she created Ms. magazine in 1971, which was an American feminist magazine that combined Steinem’s roles as an activist and freelance writer. As the magazine integrated both of Steinem’s passions, it instantly paved the way for her niche as a leader in the women’s rights movement. Ms. allowed Steinem to easily connect with the public, and it was immediately successful. It sold 300,000 copies in its first week and acquired half a million subscribers by the mid-70s (‘Gloria Steinem’ The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: The 1960s). Ms., Steinem was able to voice her opinion on a variety of subjects to a wide audience, and she used this platform to create a name for herself as the ‘Mother of Feminism’.

While Emmeline Pankhurst and Gloria Steinem both tirelessly fought for the same cause, they used very distinct methods to make a difference in women’s rights. While Pankhurst attempted to bring change by creating political groups and holding rallies, she soon found out that implementing violence had much more of an impact than her peaceful actions. With violence, suddenly the spotlight was completely turned on her, and for a couple of days, Pankhurst commanded the top news within the media and the community. With this attention, she could spread more awareness about her cause and battle for equal voting rights. For example, Emmeline and fellow activist Annie Kennedy were the first women to use violence to protest for women’s rights and were subsequently sent to prison for their actions. The news of their activities shocked Britain, with many men belittling the pair’s behavior. Undermining comments empowered hundreds of women to join Pankhurst’s political party, WSPU (“Emmeline Pankhurst”, Spartacus Educational). However, none of Pankhurst’s nonviolent protests created a similar effect in Britain. Soon, Pankhurst and the WSPU transitioned to primarily barbaric means to get their message to the people in Britain. For example, the WSPU began the practice of smashing the windows of the houses of Liberal politicians, hoping the act would scare them into changing the law regarding equal voting rights. Pankhurst even drew up a detailed proposal of arson, although these plans were never put into action (The Non-Violent Militant). Therefore, while Pankhurst did use peaceful means at the beginning of her career, she quickly transitioned into largely barbaric strategies to support women’s right to vote.

Meanwhile, Gloria Steinem took an entirely different approach during her career as an activist for women’s rights. She was often criticized for working within the system to achieve her goal, rather than physically protesting as Pankhurst did in Britain. However, Steinem’s amicable approach was much more successful than Pankhurst’s attempt, and thus she continued to make a great difference without resorting to violence. For example, Steinem used the media to her advantage, but unlike Pankhurst, she did not capture their attention through brutality. On the contrary, she set up interviews with prominent individuals and used her sense of humor and wit to discuss the women’s rights movement in an interesting way (“Sisterhood”). For instance, Steinem coined the catchphrase of the 1970s feminist movement with the quote, “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle”. With a high media presence and an enjoyable sense of humor, Steinem quickly became known as one of the most prominent and well-known leaders of the women’s rights movement of her time. Additionally, Steinem used her feminist magazine, Ms., to demonstrate her thoughts on women’s rights and encourage more individuals throughout the U.S. to join feminist organizations (‘Gloria Steinem’ The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: The 1960s). While Parkhurst and the WSPU showed their perspective through threatening means, Gloria Steinem peacefully connected with hundreds of people through her magazine. Furthermore, Steinem could easily connect with her audience on a more personal level through her persuasive articles, as opposed to Parkhurst’s strategy of attempting to connect with her community through acts of violence. Thus, while Emmeline Pankhurst and Gloria Steinem were both leaders of the feminist movement, they used extremely distinct methods to spread awareness and fight for women’s rights.

Emmeline Pankhurst and Gloria Steinem were both influential leaders within the feminist movement, however, they used their leadership in entirely separate ways. Parkhurst attempted non-violent principles in her fight for women’s rights, but eventually, she turned to brutality, as it gave her much more influence in the media to spread awareness and enlist individuals to join WSPU. On the other hand, Steinem became a leader by expressing her views through Ms, her feminist magazine, and by discussing events in the women’s movement with the media. Her strategies as a leader were very peaceful, unlike Pankhurst, who was forced by her period to resort to brutality. Despite this major difference, Pankhurst and Steinem both became feminists due to a rally around them and moved from working in a team to becoming individual leaders by creating their projects. In regards to industrialism, Pankhurst lead the feminist movement that stemmed from factories created by industrialism. While Steinem did not contribute directly to the industrialism movement, her actions as an activist helped continue the women’s rights movement of the 1850s and preserve the ideals emphasized by Pankhurst. Thus, although the pair has their differences, Emmeline Pankhurst and Gloria Steinem both lead a movement inspired by the effects of industrialism on women.