Femocrat

A contraction of “feminist” and “bureaucrat,” the title femocrat originated in Australia in 1981 to describe a new generation of feminist policymakers who sought to address feminist concerns about issues such as pay equity, violence against women, and sexual harassment. Though some scholars argue that the conditions that enabled the proliferation of femocrats only exist in Australia and the Scandinavian countries, others maintain that though the term (if not the concept) originated in Australia, it has successfully migrated to a wide range of countries. Either way, the Australian roots of the term call attention to the vibrant feminist movement in Australia throughout the 1970s and 1980s and the significant inroads femocrats made within that state bureaucracy. By the 1980s, hundreds of femocrats worked throughout the Australian government.

The position of a femocrat is often one of tension and contradiction: femocrats must navigate loyalties to feminist movement goals and the constraints of working within rigid government institutions. Indeed, feminist scholars and others have taken disparate views of the femocrat role. Scholars who praise the work of femocrats cite the material benefits femocrats have brought about, including the passage of laws aimed to address violence against women, pay equity, and child care. Having ties to state actors has enabled the women's movement to effectively bring a feminist agenda to key government officials.

Criticisms of the femocrat role mirror critiques of second-wave feminism more generally: white, middle-class, formally educated, heterosexual, straight women often set the agenda. This can be especially problematic when femocrats claim to speak on behalf of all women, which can lead to policies that may not represent the needs of women from different class and racial backgrounds from the femocrats themselves. Some scholars argue that femocrat-influenced policies reproduce oppressive colonial relations between whites and nonwhites. Tellingly, some definitions of femocrat state that it is a contraction of the terms feminist, bureaucrat, and aristocrats. Furthermore, other critics argue that femocrats' placement within the state bureaucracy dilutes their commitment to the goals of women's liberation.

Evaluating the work of femocrats becomes most meaningful in specific cases. Keeping in mind the tensions inherent in the role can help in assessing the impact of femocrats in specific advocacy and policy arenas.