Power, privilege, and inequity are key concepts in social justice that shape how societies are structured. Power is the ability to influence others and control resources, often leading to unequal relationships. Privilege is the unseen advantage given to certain groups based on traits like race, gender, or class, often at the expense of others. Inequity happens when power and privilege are unevenly distributed, causing widespread unfairness and injustice. These concepts are closely connected. Power often strengthens privilege, and together they maintain inequities in personal interactions, institutions, and systems. Understanding how they work at various levels is crucial for finding ways to challenge and break down these injustices. Clara Zetkin was a pioneering socialist feminist and activist who used her power to fight for women’s rights and social justice. Through her work, we can see how power, privilege, and inequity are used and challenged at individual, institutional, and systemic levels.

Clara Zetkin is a strong example of how one person’s efforts can fight inequality. Her advocacy for women’s rights and workers’ rights, including organizing the first International Women’s Day in 1910, shows how an ordinary person can challenge a powerful system.

March 8th was finally settled upon as a fixed date for International Women’s Day. It was chosen in commemoration of the 1857 strike by hundreds of female textile workers in New York City in protest against appalling working conditions, exploitative wages and long working hours. (Osborn, 2001, p. 79)

Zetkin’s actions not only defied societal norms but also instigated broader social change. Her work demonstrates that personal choices, especially those driven by a commitment to social justice, can be key in reducing inequality. International Women’s Day is an event that has since become a global platform for advocating women’s rights. At that time, women across many societies faced significant social and economic inequalities, including limited rights to education, employment, and political participation. By leading and forming the base of International Women’s Day, Zetkin confronted these entrenched power structures directly.

Institutions like schools, workplaces, and legal systems play a significant role in maintaining or challenging power and inequality. In Clara Zetkin’s time, many of these institutions upheld gender and class hierarchies, such as limiting women’s access to higher education. Zetkin fought against these structures by advocating for policies that promoted fairness and inclusion, like women’s education and workers’ rights. She also advocated for changes in the workplace, such as maternity leave and equal pay. Zetkin’s efforts show how institutions can either reinforce or challenge power dynamics. She actively campaigned for the expansion of educational opportunities for women. Zetkin argued that access to education was crucial for women to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to participate fully in public and professional life. Zetkin’s push for maternity leave and equal pay challenged institutional norms and contributed to the eventual implementation of these policies in some countries.

Zetkin had fought hard for woman’s suffrage to be included in the socialist programme. Her work to establish International Women’s Day paid off and although it may sometimes be overlooked, feminists throughout the world still use it as a way of focussing their campaigns. German women finally won the vote in 1918. (Osborne, 2001, p.80)

Her advocacy demonstrated how institutional policies could be influenced to better support workers and promote gender equity.

Systemic factors like the economy, government policies, and cultural beliefs are major sources of power and privilege, leading to inequality. Zetkin’s advocacy was deeply influenced by her understanding of the capitalist economic system, which she saw as perpetuating class inequality. Capitalism, with its emphasis on private ownership and profit maximization, reinforced the power and privilege of the bourgeoisie while exploiting the working class. Zetkin’s commitment to socialism was a direct challenge to these economic structures. Her work aimed to disrupt the capitalist system by advocating for workers’ rights, better labor conditions, and fair wages, addressing the systemic inequities faced by working-class individuals, particularly women. In modern times, economic systems continue to impact power and privilege. The persistence of income inequality and the widening wealth gap reflect systemic issues within capitalism. Efforts to address these inequities include movements for higher minimum wages, progressive taxation, and expanded social safety nets. These contemporary efforts reflect Zetkin’s historical advocacy in their attempt to challenge economic systems that perpetuate inequality. In her fight for women’s rights, she faced significant resistance from government policies that upheld patriarchal norms and restricted women’s rights. Many governments at the time, including those in Germany, had policies that excluded women from voting and holding public office. Zetkin’s advocacy for women’s suffrage was a direct challenge to these restrictive policies. Her efforts contributed to the eventual changes in laws that expanded women’s political participation. “We demand the political equality of women and the right to vote as a recognition of the political rights due to our sex.” (Zetkin, 1906, p.6) Today, debates around government policies still reflect systemic inequities. Issues such as reproductive rights, gender pay gaps, and anti-discrimination laws continue to be influenced by governmental policies. Recent efforts to address these include legislative changes aimed at closing the gender pay gap and expanding access to reproductive healthcare. Zetkin’s time often reinforced gender roles that limited women’s opportunities and participation in public life. Prevailing attitudes that viewed women as primarily responsible for domestic duties hindered their engagement in political and labor movements. Her activism challenged these cultural norms by promoting the idea that women were equally capable of participating in and leading political and social movements. Modern cultural norms continue to impact power dynamics, though in different ways. Evolving norms around gender roles and diversity have led to increased visibility and representation of marginalized groups in media and politics. Efforts to address systemic inequities today involve challenging traditional stereotypes and advocating for more inclusive representation, such as leadership positions and media portrayals.

Zetkin’s activism was profoundly influenced by her status as a working-class woman in a patriarchal society. Her experiences highlight how gender and class intersected to create unique challenges. As a woman, Zetkin faced systemic gender discrimination, which was compounded by her working-class background. In the early 20th century, women, especially those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, were often excluded from leadership roles in political and social movements. Zetkin’s struggle for women’s rights was not just about challenging gender norms but also about addressing the class-based barriers that limited women’s opportunities for leadership and participation. Intersectionality helps us understand how these three, power, privilege, and inequality are complex and related. It looks at how different identities like race, gender, class, and sexuality combine to create unique experiences of oppression or privilege. Zetkin’s advocacy for women’s rights was deeply intertwined with her socialist beliefs, reflecting an understanding of how gender and class intersected to create unique challenges for working-class women. In Germany, middle and upper class women, although marginalized by gender, still had access to certain privileges like education and social influence. Working class women, however, faced compounded discrimination, they were oppressed not only as women but also as laborers in a capitalist system that exploited their economic vulnerability. Zetkin was focused on organizing working-class women, recognizing that their liberation could not be achieved without addressing both gender and class oppression. She addressed issues like labor rights, fair wages, and maternity leave, which directly impacted working-class women. Her insistence on linking the fight for women’s rights with the broader socialist movement highlighted the intersectional nature of these struggles and gender inequity could not be separated from economic exploitation. Zetkin’s activism was intersectional because she recognized that working class women were oppressed both because of their gender and their economic status. She knew that women struggles could not be fully addressed without considering both class and gender. This approach is essential for addressing inequality because it shows that different forms of oppression are connected and must be fought together. Zetkin’s role in the International Socialist Women’s Congress and her advocacy for women’s suffrage were significant. “At the turn of the twentieth century, Clara Zetkin was the most important woman in the most powerful socialist movement in the world.” (Dollars, C. n.d.) She challenged both the gender norms that relegated women to secondary roles and the class-based discrimination that marginalized working-class women. Although, being primarily focused on gender and class, her activism also intersected with issues of race, especially when considering the global context of socialism and colonialism. In advocating for international solidarity, Zetkin had to navigate the racial hierarchies present in the global labor movement, where colonialist attitudes often marginalized non-European workers and activists. Her work in international socialism included efforts to unify workers across different countries, including those from colonized regions. She pushed for a more inclusive socialist movement that recognized the racial and colonial oppressions faced by workers in Africa, Asia, and America. This was a significant challenge to the racial biases of her time, reflecting an early understanding of how race intersected with class and gender in the struggle for equality. Zetkin‘s most significant contributions were her role in establishing International Women’s Day in 1910, a day meant to highlight the struggles of women worldwide. The day was conceived not just as a celebration of women’s achievements but as a call to action against the intersecting oppressions of sexism, economic exploitation, and, by extension, racial and colonial injustices. The global nature of International Women’s Day reflects Zetkin’s understanding that women’s struggles were interconnected across different identities and regions. Her legacy underscores the importance of recognizing and addressing the multiple dimensions of oppression that impact marginalized groups, a principle that remains relevant in contemporary social justice movements.

Clara Zetkin’s activism is a strong example of how power, privilege, and inequality work at different levels in society. Her work shows how these issues are connected and highlights the importance of understanding how different aspects of a person combine to shape their experiences of oppression. Zetkin actively fought against the power structures that kept women and working-class people unequal. By advocating for women’s and workers’ rights, she showed that individual actions could challenge deep-rooted systems of privilege and lead to broader social change. Her efforts to improve education and workplace policies, such as pushing for maternity leave and equal pay, demonstrate how institutions can either maintain or challenge inequalities. Her activism addressed not just gender but also class and race. Zetkin’s work provides important lessons for today’s social justice movements. Understanding how power, privilege, and inequality connect at different levels is key to creating effective strategies for change. Zetkin’s legacy teaches us that lasting social change requires both individual and collective efforts, challenging large-scale systems, and building unity across diverse groups.

References

Dollard, C. (2016). German Maternalist Socialism: Clara Zetkin and the 1896 Social Democratic Party Congress. In Bruce, S., & Smits, K. (Eds.), Feminist moments: reading feminist texts (pp. 79-80) Bloomsbury. https://sbctc-lwtech.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01STATEWA_LWTC/1b1j6b7/alma991000247562802814

Osborne, S. (2001). Feminism. Pocket Essentials. https://sbctc-lwtech.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01STATEWA_LWTC/1b1j6b7/alma991000153013402814

Zetkin, K. (1906). Social-democracy and woman suffrage, a paper read by Clara Zetkin to the Conference of women belonging to the Social-democratic party held at Mannheim before the opening of the 1906 annual Congress of the German Social-democracy. Twentieth Century Press https://sbctclwtech.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01STATEWA_LWTC/117qsle/cdi_hathitrust_hathifiles_uc1_31175035167884