Flora Tristan and Workers’ Union: Early Links between Feminism and Economic Equality
Flora Tristan was a 19th century French-Peruvian socialist and feminist whose work is often overlooked when discussing early socioeconomic activists. Particularly, Tristan’s Workers’ Union captures the interconnectedness of women’s and working-class labor rights, stressing that women’s equality is a crucial and necessary aspect of social reform. Her ideas draw on and combine those of influential thinkers like Charles Fourier and Mary Wollstonecraft, uniquely developing into one of her time’s most radically progressive social-feminist works. Tristan (1803-1844) was born in France to a French mother and a Peruvian Father, a wealthy Naval Officer for the Spanish army who died when Tristan was four years old. Tristan's travels through Peru later on inspired many of her progressive ideas; she described a strikingly harsh contrast between gender equality in Lima and in France, which she attributed to Peruvian versus European cultures. However, The Workers’ Union (1843), her last published work before her death, combined these feminist ideals with an action-oriented push for social reform. Her ideas were a radical response to the ongoing oppression, exploitation, and disregard for the working class in France, yet her emphasis on women’s inclusion was the most controversial and revolutionary for its time. Workers’ Union became the first call for a universal association of the French working class, or proletariat. At the time, labor conditions remained harsh, wages low, and hours long. Proposing small, optional membership dues, Tristan argued that the workers’ association would gain the funds necessary to advocate for themselves, their rights, and their political representation. Rather than waiting for reforms to be enacted on their behalf, Tristan believed the only way to achieve social reforms was through workers’ direct action and the elimination of the proletariat’s internal divisions. These divisions, she argued, created the fragmentation that stood at the root of ongoing discontent. Key to Tristan’s Workers’ Union is the inclusion of women. At a time when women were continuously left out of radical reform movements, Tristan centered them. She stresses society’s role in the perpetual oppression— both socially and economically— of women, specifically arguing that educational inequality prevented women’s economic independence and upward mobility. She explains the cascading consequences of patriarchal structures; continuously inferior education keeps women out of skilled labor, forces their financial dependence on men, results in abusive relationships, and limits society’s overall potential. Underlining each of her points, Tristan stressed that limiting women’s education contradicted France and Europe’s newfound push towards greater individual rights, liberty, and freedom.
Tristan applies these beliefs even further, arguing that improving women’s education is a fundamental step in eradicating working-class poverty and suffering. Because women were, at the time, solely responsible for raising children, Tristan linked women’s education with the overall state of working-class society. Without access to education, she explained, women will lack the ability to raise children to their potential intelligence, reasonableness, and ability. Thus, the proletariat will continue to suffer— unhappiness and conflict will continue to plague them, and the entire class will remain unable to take meaningful actions towards better living conditions. Although Tristan draws inspiration from other socialists, linking women’s rights with socioeconomic equality was new and radical. Many of her ideas regarding a universal workers’ union are far-fetched, but her theories around women’s education are robust— evident through their retention of relevance. More than anything, the link between education, freedom, and self-sufficiency with the ability and prosperity of the working class remains strong. Flora Tristan was scarcely recognized in proportion to her contributions to socioeconomic thought— further stressing the importance of her work. Gender-based economic inequality continues everywhere, while women’s inequality in education remains especially significant in low-income countries. Around the world, only 24% of countries have achieved gender equality in upper secondary education, limiting women's ability to obtain financial freedom and make meaningful workforce contributions. Thus, abiding by Tristan’s principles and including a feminist lense remains imperative to societies which aim to fully and properly address economic inequality and labor rights issues. References
Tristan, F. (1843). The workers’ union [English translation]. Retrieved from https://files.libcom.org/files/2023-02/Tristan,%20Flora%20-%20Workers'%20Union.pdf
(Note: Original work published 1843; this is a translation available online.)
UNICEF. (n.d.). Girls’ education. Retrieved October 22, 2025, from https://www.unicef.org/education/girls-education