First Published: The Call, Vol. 9, No. 10, March 10, 1980.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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Eileen Klehr: What we stand for is the complete abolition of women’s oppression and male chauvinist practices. We carry out day-to-day organizing to oppose the injustices women face and to mobilize them in the struggle for democratic rights and against imperialism. We’re for building the broadest possible women’s movement.
Our program includes the issues of most direct importance to the vast majority of women, such as: economic equality in job opportunities and wages, including affirmative action where appropriate; reproductive rights including the right to abortion, adequate maternity benefits and an end to forced sterilization; decent and affordable childcare; the ERA; and an end to rape and violence promoted against women.
Our view is that women can never be fully liberated under this system. But that doesn’t mean we’re standing in the wings waiting for socialism before we fight discrimination and inequality.
How does the CPML carry out this fight?
To a large extent, our work among women is centered in the industries and communities that encompass the vast majority of women from the working class and minorities. In the steel industry, for example, we’ve played a role in establishing union women’s committees which are addressing the issues of unjust firings of women workers, implementation of maternity benefit laws, health and safety on the job, and opening skilled trades and apprenticeship programs to women, to name a few. In a number of places, such as Georgetown Hospital in Washington, D.C., we’ve been active in union organizing drives.
We’ve found that women’s concerns also encompass general issues facing all workers–from layoffs to health and safety to union democracy. We try to show the special impact these issues have on women, both to mobilize the women and to win the male workers to the fight against discrimination.
A large amount of our work in the communities takes place among women. The issues of decent housing and education, welfare reform and the anti-Klan struggle deeply affect women and it’s no surprise that they’ve gotten organized around such struggles. Much of this work has shown the close relationship between the fight against women’s and national oppression and the need to speak particularly to the triple oppression of minority women.
Also, we’ve seen the need to develop special policies that can help to increase women’s participation in the movement–such as providing childcare for mass meetings, developing types of work that women can do at home and finding ways of involving whole families in political activity in order to minimize contradictions.
Our Party has always supported basic democratic struggles of women like the ERA, reproductive rights, and an end to rape and violence. However, until recently our ability to fully participate in these mass movements has been relatively weak.
How do you see the relationship between the women’s movement and the present international situation?
Recently, a number of women’s organizations have publicly opposed Carter’s proposal for draft registration. This is good, but needs to be taken further in the direction of opposing the aggression of the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
Events like the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan are helping to reveal to larger numbers of women activists the realities of the war danger and this interest is reflected in some current activities of the women’s movement. For example, at this year’s International Women’s Day celebration in the Bay Area–a program sponsored by over 50 women’s organizations–there will be a workshop held on the war danger and how it affects the women’s struggle. Another significant event that showed the growing opposition to superpower aggression was a resolution condemning the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan passed at the recently held District 31 Women’s Conference.
How does the CPML view the family and the struggle against male chauvinism?
To us, the overwhelming majority of people in the U.S. are attempting to build their families and protect them against economic and social degeneration. We disagree with those who attack the family as the source of women’s oppression–in fact, the family can serve as one arena for carrying out the fight against the system that oppresses and exploits women as well as men and children.
Of course, the vast majority of people have been educated through this system and are influenced by male chauvinist ideas, which must be strongly opposed. But the target of the fight against male chauvinism has to be its main promoters–the monopoly capitalists who take in huge profits from discrimination and promote the view of women’s inherent inequality in order to justify this.
It’s in the course of taking up the day-to-day struggle that a fight against male chauvinist ideas among the majority of men can be most successfully waged. For example, in our trade union work, we found that if wasn’t uncommon for men to oppose the entrance of women into heavy industry like auto on the basis that they were taking jobs away from men and couldn’t do the work.
But today, men and women auto workers are carrying out a common struggle against layoffs and plant shutdowns. As part of the general fight, many male workers support a demand that SUB benefits be extended to all workers, regardless of seniority. This is important to the women who have fewer years in the plant.
This is a good approach–of developing the demands of women in such a way as to place the burden on the company to pay the price for discrimination, while at the same time combating male chauvinist ideas.
What is the role of women in the CPML?
First of all, within the CPML, women are encouraged and in fact do play a role in all levels, from the basic organizing units, to our Party’s press, to the leadership. Almost half of our Party’s membership is women and this same percentage is reflected in most areas of Party leadership and responsibility.
We have a Women’s Commission within the Party that has the special responsibility of reviewing the Party’s work among women, as well as the role women play in the Party and special problems they face.
In recruiting and promoting women in the Party, we try to pay attention to their needs, advocating, for example, the sharing of responsibilities with the household. Within the Party, we carry out special education and struggle against male chauvinist attitudes and practices.
What can socialism offer women? Do you think women in China are liberated?
I have visited China several times, and one of the things that’s important to understand about the socialist system there is that it is being built in a relatively backward and underdeveloped country. Imagine trying to be liberated with no washing machines or other appliances. It’s one thing to uphold in principle that women should participate equally in the workforce, but to do this you have to have developed industry, training facilities, etc. This is why the current “four modernizations” campaign in China is so important.
On the other hand, I myself have seen dramatic changes in women’s positions there. Almost all areas of work I’ve seen, including heavy industry like oilfields and highly specialized branches of science, include women. They receive equal pay with men, complete maternity benefits, and take part with male workers in making decisions.
There’s a national daycare and nursery system and the legal system works to the advantage of women, punishing any violations of women’s equal rights according to the law. And there’s a growing self-respect among Chinese women that’s hard to define but tells you a lot about how far they’ve come from their pre-liberation, semi-feudal status.
Of course, socialism is still developing in China. Only its practice will prove whether it can in fact completely emancipate women.