Dr Finn Mackay specialises in feminist activism at the University of Bristol’s School for Policy Studies. In 2004 she founded the London Feminist Network, one of the largest grassroots feminist activist organisations in the country. Here, Mackay discusses gender equality, the need to radically rethink society and why feminism doesn’t simply mean replacing a patriarchal society with a matriarchal one.

What would a matriarchal society look like? How would it be different from the way we live now?

If we take the term 'matriarchy' to mean a mirror image of patriarchy, but with women in charge instead of men then I don't think society would necessarily be very different from the one we are in now. The whole point of feminism is not to retain the status-quo, and change the leadership; the point of feminism is to radically alter the status-quo and build a new society altogether, one that is better for women, men, children and young people, non-human animals and the environment. 

The aim of feminism as a global social movement is to challenge and end patriarchy, by which I mean a system of male supremacy, a system of social governance where men overwhelmingly dominate mainstream positions of power, authority and influence. We live in a world scarred by the masculinisation of wealth and power and we can no longer afford to pay the price of patriarchy.

But rather than a matriarchal society, I would like to see a just, equitable and socialist society where the sex one is born into does not confer status and privilege above those of any other sex. Likewise other socially constructed fractures, such as race, social class, disability or sexuality should not be grounds for discrimination or second-class status. As a feminist, and a socialist, this is the better world I would like to advance; rather than a simplistic and flawed image of a matriarchal inversion.

Would a world run by women be a more caring society?

I think a fairer and representative world, where women play an equal role with men in all arenas would indeed be a more caring society. Patriarchy, as in male dominance and male supremacy, has clearly failed. The world is in crisis environmentally, and all around we see the brutal symptoms of exploitation, hierarchy, prejudice, imperialism and greed. I believe an equal world would be fairer, not because I am a biological determinist, but because I believe all human beings have within them the potential to change and grow.

Caring, justice, cooperation and sharing are not gendered, they are not women's values or men's values, they are human values; essential to the building of any family, any community, any society, any nation. However, due to stereotyped socialisation, these values are all too often instilled in girls and women more than in boys and men, these values are deemed 'feminine' and demeaned because of that. It would be revolutionary to ensure parity in all arenas of life therefore, even now, within our imperfect world. Starting where we are at, with immediate legislation enshrining, for example, the equal representation of women in parliament, in law, policing, military, education and all the rest, would drastically change the form of those institutions and that in itself would begin a shift towards changing such institutions themselves, for the benefit of all of us. A more caring society has to be built by both women and men, and we certainly won't get there under the selfish male supremacy that governs us currently – which is why it must be changed.