Reconfiguring Gendered Spaces: A Qualitative Analysis of U.S. Vision in Mitigating Inequality across Domestic and Public Spheres

Abstract

With this study, the U.S. agenda on gender equality is brought into question, and the challenge to reconstitute gendered spaces in both domestic and public spaces is focused. By combining the “feminist spatial theory” with the intersectional analysis, the study “qualitatively” triangulates policy texts, institutional reports, and narratives to generate evidence that even though progressive initiatives in the U.S. have disrupted unstable gendered divisions by offering provisions enabling workplace reforms, caregiving support, and strengthening political representation, significant disparities persist. The structural limitations that still exist, particularly in the form of wage inequality, unequal caregiving roles, and the establishment of gender norms, continue to frame the social lives of women. Additionally, these constructions of race, class, and immigration status are intersecting dynamically so that the experiences of women can be mediated through these constructs and demonstrate how marginalized groups can end up excluded out of proportion due to universalist policy frames. Consequently, the research argues that institutional reform, focused cultural change, intersectional inclusivity, as well as the comprehensive integration of the public and the private realms are needed to effect substantive change in gendered spaces.