Challenging the Corporate Law Tradition: A Socialist Feminist Critique

Introduction This paper offers a feminist critique of corporate law and corporations. It will discuss some of the more traditional legal theories of corporate law and argue that these theories are inadequate in evaluating the effects that corporations have on people because they do not question the political and economic context they exist in. These theories treat capitalism as a given and, therefore, they fail to explain the social relations that inform the dynamics and conflicts produced by corporations. Feminist legal scholarship on the other hand, when applied to the study of corporate law, takes it one step further. Feminism places corporations within a patriarchal system of relations. It differs from traditional theory because it is a critical theory that grew out of women's own experiences. Feminist theory questions and challenges the status quo and offers suggestions for change. There are many types of feminist theory with each one offering a different perspective. However, this paper argues that socialist feminism is the best feminist theory to study corporations and corporate law because it questions both patriarchy and capitalism. This theory argues that women's oppression is a result of social, economic and political determinants and regards both gender and class relations as interwoven and does not priortize either as being the primary cause of women's oppression. Therefore, this standpoint fully exposes two primary influences that inform corporate law. This paper will use a socialist feminist lens when discussing and critiquing the work of earlier feminist legal scholarship on corporate law and corporations. Principally it will examine the work of radical feminists, Lahey and Salter; and relational feminists Cohen and Gabaldon. It will also examine the works of others as part of the critique. Lahey and Salter, and Cohen will be looked at and their feminist applications to corporate law will be critiqued. Gabaldon's analysis applied to the issue of shareholder limited liability will be examined. Each has something to add to a feminist critique, but each neglects the issue of women's oppression as it relates to capitalism and the shaping of corporate law under capitalism. Other authors, such as White and Hall, will be brought into the discussion by way of offering other viewpoints on the material. This paper will also examine the capitalist bureaucratic corporate structure and how it is used as an instrument of social control. Known for its highly segregated division of labour, women 2 workers become alienated …