How we cite our quotes: (Part.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
There have been no men on Whileaway for at least eight centuries—I don't mean no human beings, of course, but no men—and this society, run entirely by women, has naturally attracted a great deal of attention since the appearance last week of its representative and its first ambassador, the lady on my left here. (1.7.19)
On Joanna's Earth, people often use the word "man" to mean "human," and the novel suggests that this reflects a significant social problem, which is that men in Joanna's world are the only people who enjoy full human rights.
Quote #2
The door opened at this point and a young woman walked in, a woman of thirty years or so, elaborately painted and dressed. I know I should not have assumed anything, but one must work with what one has; and I assumed that her dress indicated a mother. That is, someone on vacation, someone with leisure, someone who's close to the information network and full of intellectual curiosity. If there's a top class (I said to myself), this is it. (2.5.17)
When Janet mistakes the Colonel's secretary for the person in charge, we learn something crucial about the Whileawayan class system (such as it is). On Whileaway, all women cycle through periods of labor and leisure, work and ease. Mothers may be the "top class," but every Whileawayan gets the same "vacation" from work from age thirty to thirty-five.
Quote #3
Now, nobody can be more in favor of women getting their rights than I am. Do you want to sit down? Let's. As I said, I'm all in favor of it. Adds a decorative touch to the office, eh? Ha ha! Ha ha ha! Unequal pay is a disgrace. But you've got to remember, Janet, that women have certain physical limitations [...] and you have to work within your physical limitations. (3.2.136)
Although Ewing makes fun of the new feminist movement at the party on Riverside Drive, he puts his finger on one of its central concerns: women's right to equal pay for equal work. Like other men of his time, Ewing uses stereotypes about women's physical limitations in order to justify a system that benefits from their unpaid labor in the home.