Between Private and Public Space: The Role of Women in Development According to Julia Kristeva

Abstract

This study aims to explore women's participation in development from the perspective of Julia Kristeva's theory. The method used in this research is a descriptive-qualitative analysis based on library research. The data analysis technique involves collecting various relevant literature related to the issue in this study, namely development that often overlooks women's participation and creates a double burden for women in the development process. The findings of this research indicate that, first, women's participation in development, both in the private sphere (household affairs) and the public sphere (work in the public domain), is not a double burden as criticized by earlier feminist movements. Women working in the private sphere (cooking, taking care of children and husbands, and household affairs) and in the public sphere (formal jobs, farming, and other income-generating work) is a voluntary choice, not due to burden or compulsion. Second, the difficulty for women to obtain equal rights in securing jobs in public spaces is due to the stigma that women should not work in certain jobs, such as being drivers, company leaders, or regional heads. This occurs because of societal representations that view women as weak and second-class compared to men.