Assessing the Effects of Feminist Theory in the Era of Hobby Lobby

Feminist advocates are reflecting on how wide an impact the Hobby Lobby decision will have on parts of women’s lives not directly related to birth control.  Does Hobby Lobby open the door to other deeply held religious beliefs dominating the workplace at the expense of women’s leadership and economic advancement?  What if a religious belief requires the subordination of women?  Will women lose ground in bringing successful discrimination claims for failure of promotion where the basis is a sincerely held religous beliefs? What other legal protections are at risk?

 Is the failure of the United States to ratify CEDAW symbolic of the apparant backlash against womens’s rights? 

 Feminist theorists are called to assess the impact of their work in a time when by all appearances women are losing legal ground.  In its call for papers, the Center on Applied Feminism (University of Baltimore School of Law) asks us to consider the impact of recent legal and policy decisions on the economic well-being of women.  At what point will women with resources elect to withdraw from the workforce or engage the workforce in a limited way?

” As the nation emerges from the recession, work and economic security are front and center in our national policy debates.  Women earn less than men, and the new economic landscape impacts men and women differently.  At the same time, women are questioning whether to Lean In or Lean Out, and what it means to “have it all.”  

The Center will hold a symposium on these issues on March 5 and 6, 2015.  Those interested in submitting a paper addressing these issues in preparation for the symposium will find more information here.