Women in Barbados and the Commonwealth Caribbean have always organised to oppose and change their circumstances. Given the prevalence of misogyny and patriarchy in colonial and postcolonial societies, this resistance is especially important. Women’s activism has primarily been labelled as “feminism,” but this paper contends that this is not historically accurate. While feminism provided a language and an international platform for Caribbean women’s work, it was ineffective in providing a framework for addressing community-based organising. The paper employs Eusi Kwayana’s concept of “conscience” as a more appropriate philosophical anchor for Caribbean activism. Conscience is a philosophical marker that connects Andaiye’s work to a broader Afro-Caribbean approach to navigating life in postcolonial societies affected by the relics of slave plantation economy and social structures. This orientation runs counter to the Western definition of feminism, and Caribbean women should be wary of the ways such concepts impede their ability to organise themselves meaningfully.