1946 – 2004
Susan Moller Okin (1946–2004) was an American political philosopher and leading figure in liberal feminist theory. Best known for applying Rawlsian justice frameworks to expose gender inequality within the family and liberal political thought, she argued that private domestic arrangements are a central site of injustice that political theory cannot ignore. Her work bridged analytic political philosophy and feminist scholarship, reshaping debates about equality, multiculturalism, and the gendered division of labor.
Authored Justice, Gender, and the Family (1989), applying Rawlsian theory to critique gender injustice in domestic life
Wrote Women in Western Political Thought (1979), exposing the exclusion and misrepresentation of women in canonical political philosophy
Sparked international debate with 'Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?' (1999), arguing cultural group rights can harm women within minorities
Developed the argument that the family must be subject to principles of justice, not treated as a private sphere beyond political scrutiny
Held the Martha Sutton Weeks Professorship in Ethics at Stanford University, shaping a generation of feminist political theorists