My first Publication GenderedDistributionOfLabour(clone) | Seite 4

of labour, political intervention is needed. Gender egalitarian policies such as social support
for childcare, work-time regulations and appropriate parental leave would indirectly influence
men and women to justly distribute work. Schouten (2015) believes that these types of
policies would make the society we live in a more gender egalitarian one. (p. 2). However,
political intervention might be problematic in some cases. For example, political power can
be disrespectful to the citizens as it can constrain their choices. Here arise issues of equality
and autonomy.
The citizenship argument by Gina Schouten (2015) entails that citizens have their own
conception of the good, meaning that they are able to have their own sense of justice. In a
politically liberal state, citizens should be able to be autonomous and equal in their choices.
However, political interventions are sometimes necessary for the protection of the citizens’
interests; in that case, they are justifiably permitted. A political liberal state should be guided
by liberal values, but the citizen is free to reject those values while making life choices. Here,
Schouten identifies two versions of values: political versions of values and comprehensive
versions of values. Political values are used as reasons to justify political intervention, while
comprehensive values are not. To better understand these versions of values, the author gives
us the autonomy example: “Autonomy as a political value includes the sort of independence
necessary to exercise the moral powers of citizenship: for example, the religious freedom
necessary for the capacity to form and revise a conception of the good. Autonomy as a
comprehensive value, in contrast, involves the actual exercise of these capacities: an
engagement in critical reflection on and evaluation of our deepest ends and values. By the
criterion of reciprocity, comprehensive autonomy cannot legitimately be invoked to ground
exercises of political power.” (p. 8). Consequently, if the citizens of a politically liberal state
live equal and autonomous lives, then they should have the option to choose whether to apply
or not gender egalitarian views to their day to day life and choices. If they do not have the
option to choose, then a problem of instability arises. Political intervention is accepted only
when “a society is characterized by social structures that obstruct the genuine availability of
gender egalitarianism” (p. 26).
Gina Schouten here illustrates the need for intervention in order to combat the injustice
created by the gendered distribution of labour. She acknowledges the fact that the division of
labour in a family is unjust, however, political intervention might interfere in the equal and
autonomous lifestyles of citizens, making it a bit difficult for effective public policy
implementation. Therefore, an individual is not obliged to accept gender egalitarian views in
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