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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/46146
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

You dress the women however you like, and have them take whatever role they wish in their life. You pay them the same (or more) than their male counterparts for equal work, and most importantly, **you have men and women alike look to women with respect.** Ask their opinion. Listen to it and follow it. Consider their words. See the wisdom in them. If you open with something like this, a male MC reflecting on how **_he can always count on his cousin to have thought things through, more than anyone else he knows,_** then even if her name is Sissy and she speaks with a lisp and wears go-go boots and miniskirts and fishnet stockings, you'll be giving the reader something to think about. This sort of reflection on your male MC's part also makes him more interesting. And of course, your female viewpoint characters should also reflect on women positively, too.

If your characters see women as strong, so will you reader.

Also. Do a word count in your novel. See how many _him_ and _his_ vs. how many _her_ and _hers_ you have. Is it balanced? Or even female heavy? (females are often invisible. Go ahead--make it female heavy.) See how much dialog is from women vs men. Et cetera. Ask yourself if your women's dialog is declarative and authoritative, or more along the lines of a supplicant or servant. Who is asking the questions in the novel? Who is dispensing knowledge?

^^I recommend these sorts of metrics... because many male writers that I personally know stuff their novels full of men running around doing 'men things.' A couple women are tossed in as an afterthought, to take care of bearing children and looking nice. So go ahead--since you identify as a male writer, check your numbers.

The last thing you should worry about is how anyone dresses.

Also, a small thing up front, like a man taking on a small female-centric task, perhaps mending a tear in her skirt or some such, can go a long way to communicate the frame of your view of women.

Original score: 17