--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The future woman must have a life work…" description: "\"The future woman must have a life work and economic independence. She must have the right of motherhood at her own discretion.\" — W. E. B. Du Bois" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_discretion_the-future-woman-must-have-a-life-work-a_372799.png" --- # The future woman must have a life work and economic… ![“The future woman must have a life work and economic independence. She must have the right of motherhood at her own discretion.” quote by W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_discretion_the-future-woman-must-have-a-life-work-a_372799.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_discretion_the-future-woman-must-have-a-life-work-a_372799.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_discretion_the-future-woman-must-have-a-life-work-a_372799.png) > “The future woman must have a life work and economic independence. She must have the right of motherhood at her own discretion.” [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Women need autonomy in career, finances, and reproductive choices to achieve true equality. **In simple terms:** Women should control work, money, and motherhood. Key Takeaway Promote policies that ensure economic and reproductive freedom. Themes gender equality economic independence reproductive rights Mood determined hopeful Type political social When to use this quote - workplace equality - family planning legislation - education programs - social welfare reforms Key Concepts feminism social justice human rights Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance economic empowerment with cultural values? - What policies best protect reproductive autonomy? A Different Perspective Implementation may face cultural resistance and unequal resource distribution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discretion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discretion/) [Economic independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-independence/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-work/) [Motherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motherhood/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [What is the future of the woman's movement How in the hell do I know I don't run it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/what-is-the-future-of-the-woman-s-movement-how-in-the-hell-do-i-know/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [I dream of a not-so-distant future in which every woman can wake up, decide what she'll wear from the millions of styles in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-hyman/i-dream-of-a-not-so-distant-future-in-which-every-woman-can-wake-up/) [Jennifer Hyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-hyman/) > [GUYS: You can never change her past, but you can create the most beautiful future that any woman has ever seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proudlesbian/guys-you-can-never-change-her-past-but-you-can-create-the-most/) ProudLesbian > [I want women to really look like women from today. It's not from the past and not from the future, because I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolina-herrera/i-want-women-to-really-look-like-women-from-today-it-s-not-from-the/) [Carolina Herrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolina-herrera/) > [It is perfectly natural for the future woman to feel indignant at the limitations posed upon her by her sex. The real question is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/it-is-perfectly-natural-for-the-future-woman-to-feel-indignant-at-the/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [I need a man with a future because I'm a woman with a past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-saunders/i-need-a-man-with-a-future-because-i-m-a-woman-with-a-past/) Sandy Saunders > [“She's my life, do you understand? Have you ever loved a woman? Have you ever held her at night so tight because you couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-reiss/she-s-my-life-do-you-understand-have-you-ever-loved-a-woman-have-you/) [C.D. Reiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-d-reiss/) > [What a man is is an arrow into the future, and what a woman is is the place the arrow shoots off from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/what-a-man-is-is-an-arrow-into-the-future-and-what-a-woman-is-is-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [After all the allowances are made for the necessity of having a few supermen in our midst - explorers, conquerors, great inventors, great presidents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/after-all-the-allowances-are-made-for-the-necessity-of-having-a-few/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [At the bottom of education, at the bottom of politics, even at the bottom of religion, there must be for our race economic independence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/at-the-bottom-of-education-at-the-bottom-of-politics-even-at-the/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Perhaps the ideal life is that of the week-end artist, who preserves the integrity of his own aesthetic ideals because of his economic independence...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/perhaps-the-ideal-life-is-that-of-the-week-end-artist-who-preserves/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [“Intellectual freedom depends upon material things. (...) Women have had less intellectual freedom than the sons of Athenian slaves. Women, then, have not had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/intellectual-freedom-depends-upon-material-things-women-have-had-less/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The Platform for Action gives due emphasis to the fact that women globally have continued to have insufficient access to the resources necessary to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-shipley/the-platform-for-action-gives-due-emphasis-to-the-fact-that-women/) [Jenny Shipley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-shipley/) > [“I need not flatter any man; he has nothing to give me”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-need-not-flatter-any-man-he-has-nothing-to-give-me/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Once people get a taste for whatever you want to call it - economic independence, a better lifestyle, and a better life for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/once-people-get-a-taste-for-whatever-you-want-to-call-it-economic/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) ## More by W. E. B. Du Bois > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [As a race, the Negroes are not lazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/as-a-race-the-negroes-are-not-lazy/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [If there is anybody in this land who thoroughly believes that the meek shall inherit the earth they have not often let their presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/if-there-is-anybody-in-this-land-who-thoroughly-believes-that-the/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Men we shall have only as we make manhood the object of the work of the schools - intelligence, broad sympathy, knowledge of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/men-we-shall-have-only-as-we-make-manhood-the-object-of-the-work-of/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Had it not been for the race problem early thrust upon me and enveloping me, I should have probably been an unquestioning worshipper at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/had-it-not-been-for-the-race-problem-early-thrust-upon-me-and/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Before and after emancipation, the Negro, in self-defense, was propelled toward the white employer. The endowments of wealthy white men have developed great institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/before-and-after-emancipation-the-negro-in-self-defense-was-propelled/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [The use of slave women as day workers naturally broke up or made impossible the normal Negro home, and this and the slave code…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-use-of-slave-women-as-day-workers-naturally-broke-up-or-made/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Before the Civil War, the Negro was certainly as efficient a workman as the raw immigrant from Ireland or Germany. But, whereas the Irishmen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/before-the-civil-war-the-negro-was-certainly-as-efficient-a-workman/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [All art is propaganda, and ever must be, despite the wailing of the purists. I stand in utter shamelessness and say that whatever art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/all-art-is-propaganda-and-ever-must-be-despite-the-wailing-of-the/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [The ruling of men is the effort to direct the individual actions of many persons toward some end. This end theoretically should be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-ruling-of-men-is-the-effort-to-direct-the-individual-actions-of/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Education is that whole system of human training within and without the school house walls, which molds and develops men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/education-is-that-whole-system-of-human-training-within-and-without/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [As Negro voting increased, Congress got an improved sense of hearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/as-negro-voting-increased-congress-got-an-improved-sense-of-hearing/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [From the day of its birth, the anomaly of slavery plagued a nation which asserted the equality of all men, and sought to derive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/from-the-day-of-its-birth-the-anomaly-of-slavery-plagued-a-nation/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [It is the stars, it is the ancient stars, it is the young and everlasting stars!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/it-is-the-stars-it-is-the-ancient-stars-it-is-the-young-and/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/it-is-a-peculiar-sensation-this-double-consciousness-this-sense-of/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) [Explore all 177 W. E. B. Du Bois quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) ## More Discretion quotes > [The policeman on the beat or in the patrol car makes more decisions and exercises broader discretion affecting the daily lives of people every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-e-burger/the-policeman-on-the-beat-or-in-the-patrol-car-makes-more-decisions/) [Warren E. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-e-burger/) > [Aishwarya, my parent's daughter, has been brought up with enough values inculcated where I will use my discretion in my choices. At the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aishwarya-rai-bachchan/aishwarya-my-parent-s-daughter-has-been-brought-up-with-enough-values/) [Aishwarya Rai Bachchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aishwarya-rai-bachchan/) > [The fleet sailed to its war base in the North Sea, headed not so much for some rendezvous with glory as for rendezvous with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-fleet-sailed-to-its-war-base-in-the-north-sea-headed-not-so-much/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [“All sexual activity performed is at the discretion of the participants and is confined to only one hour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-a-miles/all-sexual-activity-performed-is-at-the-discretion-of-the/) Karen A.Miles > [The first principle of solid wisdom is discretion, without it all the erudition of life is merely bagatelle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/the-first-principle-of-solid-wisdom-is-discretion-without-it-all-the/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [ Forgiveness is the best part of valor...Discretion is easy. It's finding the courage to forgive yourself and others that is hard. \[Acheron\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/forgiveness-is-the-best-part-of-valor-discretion-is-easy-it-s-finding/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Instead of a perpetual and perfect measure of the divine will, the fragments of the Koran were produced at the discretion of Mahomet; each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/instead-of-a-perpetual-and-perfect-measure-of-the-divine-will-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“Commonality & Camaraderie. By identifying, developing, and connecting powerful points of reference to others, you will have a rich resource of information from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/commonality-camaraderie-by-identifying-developing-and-connecting/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [We lay aside letters never to read them again, and at last we destroy them out discretion, and so disappears the most immediate breath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-lay-aside-letters-never-to-read-them-again-and-at-last-we-destroy/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Drunkenness is the very sepulcher Of man's wit and his discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/drunkenness-is-the-very-sepulcher-of-man-s-wit-and-his-discretion/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [Great is our admiration of the orator who speaks with fluency and discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/great-is-our-admiration-of-the-orator-who-speaks-with-fluency-and/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Be not too tame neither, but let your own Discretion be your tutor; suit the action to the word, the word to the action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/be-not-too-tame-neither-but-let-your-own-discretion-be-your-tutor/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O sir, you are old; nature in you stands on the very verge of her confine; you should be ruled and led by some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-sir-you-are-old-nature-in-you-stands-on-the-very-verge-of-her/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I have tales to tell, but I don't tell them. Discretion. Discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-peck/i-have-tales-to-tell-but-i-don-t-tell-them-discretion-discretion/) [Gregory Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-peck/) > [When you learn to discipline your tongue, you'll stop scrutinizing, judging and condemning others. You'll then focus on your own weaknesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mufti-ismail-menk/when-you-learn-to-discipline-your-tongue-you-ll-stop-scrutinizing/) [Mufti Ismail Menk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mufti-ismail-menk/) [Browse all 364 Discretion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discretion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The future woman must have a life work and economic independence. She must have the right of motherhood at her own discretion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. E. B. Du Bois" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-future-woman-must-have-a-life-work-and-economic-independence-she/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discretion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-future-woman-must-have-a-life-work-and-economic-independence-she/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_discretion_the-future-woman-must-have-a-life-work-a_372799.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_discretion_the-future-woman-must-have-a-life-work-a_372799.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_discretion_the-future-woman-must-have-a-life-work-a_372799.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The future woman must have a life work and economic independence. She must have the right of motherhood at…” — W. E. B. Du Bois", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "W. E. B. Du Bois", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The future woman must have a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-future-woman-must-have-a-life-work-and-economic-independence-she/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-future-woman-must-have-a-life-work-and-economic-independence-she/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```