Women are subject to appalling violence - within domestic relationships, through a daily bombardment of denigration in the media and in social situations, to rape and incest. The capitalist class has long attempted to preserve the low wage position of women. The state has a long history of systematically controlling women's reproductive, democratic and employment rights. Integral to this systematic oppression is male supremacist ideology, stemming from the unequal situation of men and women. This pervasive ideology leads many men to subjugate women in work, social and domestic situations, through the practice of an intimidatory, harassing, degrading and violent culture.
Some men consciously ally with the exploiters to maintain the subordinated position of women.
But, again in the final analysis, the vast majority of working people, both women and men, have no stake in women's oppression. Besides the exploitation of workers and oppression of national minorities and women, hundreds of thousands of people in Aotearoa suffer from the hidden hands of the capitalist class. For young people monopoly capitalism means an insecure and uncertain future. Access to public education is becoming increasingly restricted. Youth unemployment is drastically high and young people in Aotearoa have the highest suicide rate in the world.