Last week, feminism was kicked around the Westminster bubble by both political parties. Harriet Harman began by declaring it impossible to be both a Conservative and a feminist.Andrea Leadsom described Harman's argument as 'patronising rubbish', and linked the origins of the suffragette movement to the Conservative principles of "equality and choice".
Of course, neither party can exclusively claim feminism as theirs. As Leadsom points out, the Labour party has, at best, a chequered history in relation to feminism, especially in the first half of the 20th century. In the inter-war period Labour Party annual conferences consistently warned its female members not to join women's groups, as the party struggled to come to terms with both a gender and class war. Coupled with this intellectual conundrum was the influence of the unions. During the Second World War, the union's attitude to equal pay can be best summed up by the Chairman of the TUC's patronising response to women's protests about the issue. As reported by the Annual conference of 1941 reports, he merely replied "I think you will agree that was charmingly done (laughter)".
Yet, the Conservative Party can hardly place themselves as the feminist torch carriers. They still only have 49 female MPs. The party is vehemently supportive of a tax break for married couples, which for many feminists is an indication of favouritism towards one particular family structure. Indeed, the current Conservative Prime Minister has had to apologise for comments to female MPs ("Calm down dear"), defensively stating he "was not one of the lads". Hardly the actions of a leader at one with feminism.
Neither party can ever own this moral issue. The politic liberalisation of women in the inter-war years actually splintered the women's movement that had been built around suffrage. Most working-class women joined the Labour Party, whilst the mainly middle-class Women's Institute channelled their increasing membership to domestic teachings, rather than political reform. Generally, the period was one of decline for feminism - the National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship, which boasted 220 affiliated societies in 1920, and yet by the end of the decade only had 90.
The slight opening up of party politics for women damaged the feminist cause dramatically. Yet, politics remains the vehicle for feminist progress. At University, I wrote my thesis on women groups in the Second World War - concentrating on a group titled The Women's Parliament. The remarkable sessions, archived today at The Women's Library in Manchester, represented unity and solidarity that crossed class and political boundaries when faced with the darkness of war. Tory MPs and middle-class feminists such as Eleanor Rathbone and Violet Bonham Carter shared platforms with Communists, Trade Unions, Liberals and Labour Party members. Fundraising was jointly undertaken by Baronesses and Communists to support women in the Soviet Union, campaigns were created to support part-time work, nurseries for working mothers and a regional Parliament was organised in Lancashire, which successfully lobbied for equal pay.
Both George Osborne and Vince Cable have recently compared our current economic situation to war. The macro-economic debate around austerity versus growth inevitably divides politicians, rather than bringing them together. But there are some outstandingly talented female politicians on both sides of the house who must now work together where possible to support women, who are suffering disproportionately from the recession. A recent IPPR report shows that more than one million women are now unemployed, the highest amount for 23 years.
Instead of political posturing around the intellectual ownership of feminism, both parties should concentrate on real action to help women return to work. Feminism is simply too important to kick around.