DisCO DNA 3: Feminist Economics

Economics, like many areas of life, has tended to be dominated by male priorities and privileges, occluding many areas of economic activity falling outside patriarchal interest. Described as a "...social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services" the very definition of mainstream economics instantly raises concern: What about everything falling outside the limited scope of goods and services? What's the other story?

Feminist Economics is an approach to economics that factors in all of the unseen labor (traditionally associated with women) needed in order to support economic activity (traditionally associated with men). Feminist economics focuses on caring for the well-being of the individuals that make up an economic system, valuing and recognising that carework is equally important as “productive”, income-generating economic activity.

Overview

Feminist Economics questions the gendered aspects of work, what we value and the types of economic activities we favor. It challenges heteronormativity in the field of economics, both through an established body of work and tactics and as an approach to organizing our lives and capacities.

Whereas mainstream economics only recognises work valued by markets, Feminist Economics substantially extends the scope of what we want to value by placing human and planetary wellbeing at the center of our economic priorities and tracking systems. What produces wellbeing? "Goods and services" is an inadequate answer, subjecting wellbeing to the limitations of monetary exchange which, in the current economy, prioritizes for profit, extractive and often environmentally damaging and unnecessary products and activities.

Arguably, what truly produces wellbeing is care: whether it's our children, elderly or environments, care is fundamental to human existence. Yet care work is either invisibilized and left out of economics analysis or relegated to low salaried work.

Feminist Economics seeks to correct these imbalances by critically analyzing the gendered assumptions underlying mainstream economies while promoting economic equality regardless of gender. Beyond production and distribution, it places great importance on cooperation and care, valuing unpaid and reproductive work while acknowledging that the full complexity of our lives and interaction can't always be grasped by qualitative metrics.

Resources

In order to understand quickly why Feminist Economics is so revolutionary and challenges the capitalist mindset, we encourage you to start by checking out Naila Kabeer’s article, Why we need feminist economists, The Problem of Value for ‘Women’s Work’, as well as the Women’s Budget Group’s excellent resources and infographics. Then you’ll be ready for longer walks at the Feminist Economics site.

For further exciting explorations through the intersections of Feminist Economics and Technology, we suggest you check GenderIT.org’s articles, especially Why We Need ‘Feminist Digital Economics’ and Marilyn Waring’s noteworthy and groundbreaking book Counting for Nothing: What Men Value and What Women are Worth, as well as the rest of her extensive production in this field.

But if you want a personal recommendation that we hold dear, then go for the Radical Care: Embracing Feminist Finance zine, published by Amateur Cities and the Institute of Network Cultures and featuring the contributions of some of our long-time collaborators such as Ruth Catlow, Ailie Rutherford, Inte Gloerich and Denise Thwaites:

MoneyLab#7 Session 4 BEYOND THE “BLOKECHAIN from Institute of Network Cultures on Vimeo.

Examples

In progress. Please check back soon for updates.

Image Credits

• Lead Image by Susan H. Baker