Considering data concerning the underrepresentation of women in philosophy, I
reflect on how it is that discrimination of individuals or of categories of people can take
place in this discipline, and on what approaches can be adopted to analyse and contrast
the discrimination of women in particular. I consider Louise Antony’s distinction
between two different approaches: “Different Voices”, according to which women are
discriminated in philosophy because of their difference, and “Perfect Storm”, according
to which such discrimination is caused by a combination of independent factors.
Accepting Antony’s criticism of the Different Voices approach, I offer a few considerations
that hope to supplement the Perfect Storm approach by showing how the factors
that combine to cause the discrimination of women in philosophy are interconnected.
In so doing, I discuss the normative role of gender stereotypes, the role of care-giving
in society and its place in our value system, and women’s difficult path towards the
indispensable condition of being autonomous subjects and agents.
