“I believe most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise,” Maya Angelou’s statement questions the longstanding correlation of virtue with free will in women’s lives. From the feminist lens, Angelou’s statement raises a philosophical question: in a patriarchal society, do women possess free will? Possessing both consciousness and conscience, women are the doers of their actions. Yet, are their decisions manifestations of the moral architecture they are raised in, or their will as an individual. For many women, their lifetime will consist of free choice, but not necessarily free will. True free will is often denied to women whose choices are dictated by rigid moral compasses. 

Morals, constituted by the patriarchy, keep women in cycles of this-or-that decisions where they are unable to break free, for fear of moral reprimand. The patriarchy does not force women, rather, it entraps women with moral fallacies. Moral codes are the cornerstone to civil society, often held by the collective without doubt. Yet, when morals are shaped in favor of an oppressive power, the morals may justify free choice for the confinement of free will. Women often make decisions based on morality, as does any other individual, but women are entrapped by options more than they are confronted with possibilities. In truth, there is no control group, free of society’s ‘moral influence’ to evaluate the extent of the Patriarchy on women’s free will. In evaluation, there is no necessity for a woman to be a mother, or to be a working woman. It is purely her choice, but the society’s normalcy dictates a woman do one or the other. 

To women, there has always been the decades-old question. Career or motherhood? Career, the pride of financial freedom, self-reliance, and their impact in the workplace. Motherhood, the pride of creation, growth, and a cornerstone of ‘femininity’. There is no free will in the decision between career and motherhood. The freedom to choose either option constitutes a woman’s free choice. Conversely, a woman’s free will constitutes the ability to choose an option free of the necessity to abide by societal virtue. For long, society has held narrow moral codes toward women, lacking nuance in a mature woman’s options. Black-and-white choices such as giving up motherhood for a career, or career for motherhood, are the current epitome of a woman’s freedom. Is it moral for mothers to work long hours with children at home? Society says no. The statistics agree, finding 55% of working “moms have reduced hours or switched jobs to manage childcare costs”, an additional 36% leaving “the workforce entirely due to cost-prohibitive childcare expenses,” [1] There is no moral statute stating women need to sacrifice working ambitions for motherhood. There is simply a lack of choices that forces women into the chasm between a ‘this-or-that’ between motherhood and career. International Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found women more likely than men to take parental leave, experiencing reduced labor market attachments post-childbirth. [2] Retired, 23-Slam, tennis professional, Serena Williams grieved retirement, noting “If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labour of expanding our family.” There is no true necessity for women to abandon one for the other if society accommodates women for diverse options.

In personal testimony, I had grown up believing my mother was selfish. For much of my formative years, I had believed my mother was inferior to a woman because she was a working woman. Both my parents were manual laborers, working tiresome shifts that went into ungodly hours. I felt the distance between my parents’ job, and my neediness as a child. Watching as my peers were picked up by their mothers, while I was picked up by my grandfather, I felt hatred toward my mother. Watching her hunch over a composition notebook every night, callously budgeting, against the image of my friend’s mother who would bake the class goodies. I saw my mother as a greedy monster who loved money more than she did her daughter. Interestingly enough, it had never crossed my mind to blame my father the way I’d blame my mother. In truth, we were a lower-class family trying to scrape by. My mother didn’t have the means to stop working. The models of free will lie in choices, where the woman is not “neglecting” her child as she actively works to put food on the table. 

Works Cited 

Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Pasadena, Calif., Salem Press, 1969. 

Fiona, Toni. “87% of Working Moms Hide Their Parenthood at Work.” LiveCareer, 30 Apr. 2025, www.livecareer.com/resources/motherhood-on-mute-report. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026. 

“Gender Equality in a Changing World.” 2026. Gender Equality at Work, OECD Publishing, 28 Apr. 2025. 

Sahay, Aditya. ““If I Was a Guy”- Serena Williams Claims Sexism Played a Big Role in Her Retirement Call.” WION, 13 Aug. 2022, 

www.wionews.com/sports/if-i-was-a-guy-serena-williams-claims-sexism-played-a-major-role-in -her-retirement-506591. Accessed 24 Jan. 2026.