A presentation at the seminar "Philosophy and Studies of Women," which was organized by the "Woman and Society" Section as a part of the first seminar of women's studies, "Women's Studies of Philosophy and Literature," which was held in the 1982/83 academic year. The presentation was held in the premises of the Association of University Professors at 5 p.m. on May 6, 1983, and was the basis of a later book, The Woman Question and Self-Management (Zagreb, 1987).
Despot's basic thesis, presented in this manuscript and presentation, is that a woman is "below the level of emancipation of her class" regardless of whether she belongs to the proletariat or bourgeoisie (Despot, 1983, 2). For her, the role of Marxist feminism can be seen as a struggle for more women to work on jobs that are not poorly paid and require higher or high qualifications, jobs and salaries that would enable them to support themselves (Despot, 1983, 3). Despot is of the opinion that anyone who “is not economically emancipated is not free in these abstract work exchange units either.” She also thinks that the true proletarian “must fight against those degrading influences left by the bourgeoisie, thereby criticizing the incompleteness of the Yugoslav version of socialism”(Despot, 1983, 4-5).