New Books in Critical Theory Cordelia Fine, "Patriarchy Inc.: What We Get Wrong About Gender Equality – and Why Men Still Win at Work" (W.W. Norton, 2025)
Sep 1, 2025
Cordelia Fine, a Canadian-born British philosopher and professor at the University of Melbourne, shares incisive insights from her latest book on gender equality. She critiques existing narratives about workplace gender roles, highlighting the cultural factors that shape these dynamics. Fine challenges the adequacy of evolutionary psychology in understanding gender and discusses how sexual harassment enforces traditional hierarchies. She advocates for a nuanced approach to gender equality and explores the intersectionality of gender, race, and class in workplace inequalities.
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Flawed Frames That Stall Gender Progress
- Two dominant frames harm progress: 'different but equal' and the 'business case' for DEI.
- Both frames obscure structural causes and limit meaningful change.
Cultural Variability Challenges 'Natural' Explanations
- Evolutionary psychology often explains labour divisions by fixed sex differences in personality and motives.
- Fine argues this account struggles to explain the wide cultural variability in gendered roles.
Evidence Of Plasticity In Sex Differences
- Cross-cultural and large-sample data show sex differences vary widely across societies.
- This plasticity undermines claims that observed gaps are fixed biological constants.
