Gender and Economics

The gendered division of labour in the market economy and the gender distribution of unpaid work within the households represents a major concern in gender economics so long as it perpetuates a gender stratification of the economy and the society at large. Gender differences in economic outcomes, such sectoral and occupational attainment, relative wage level and gender roles in the household, are crucially intertwined with the allocation of time spent in paid employment and unpaid work. Despite certain regional and cultural differences, an unequal burden of unpaid household production is generally established around the entire world, where women undertake the most part of unpaid care and domestic work. Feminist economics approaches to the role of women and men in the household, such as the relative autonomy of social reproduction, as developed by Jane Humphries and Jill Rubery (1984), together with the works of Julie Nelson on the role of men and the concept of “husbandry”, or the “Triple R’s” framework of Diane Elson, demonstrate the importance of unpaid and paid distribution between women and men.

Our panel aims to discuss the changing role of women and men in the economy, with a focus on the determinants of this gendered provision of care has evolved during the last decades and the different patterns across the globe. Economic research on the distribution of unpaid work has long been limited by the scarce availability of data. The over-representation of women in the informal sector and household production feeds the challenge of accounting properly women’s work in labour statistics and national-income accounts, as noted by Marilyn Waring and Gloria Steinem (1988). Thus, contributions that focus on potential solutions for data limitations, such as survey design, data collection on time use, estimation techniques, along with quantitative or qualitative analyses are encouraged.

An important aspect of the evolution of gender distribution of paid and unpaid labour during the last decades is the gendered aftermath of macroeconomic policies and financial markets. The austerity policies implemented after the Great Recession translated into cutting public spending on care policies and public care provision, and into an overall retrenchment of the welfare state. The Great Recession indeed affected differently male and female-dominated sectors located in different places around the globe, and had ultimately different gender and regional impacts. Indeed, scholars stress the importance of integrate a gender perspective into the debates to accurate understanding of the sources of economic growth and the macro-economy at large, as stated by Stephanie Seguino (2000) in relation to Asia. Thus, we encourage both micro and macro-level effects of gender inequalities, from either theoretical or empirical perspectives.

Beyond the determinants of unequal, gendered distribution of paid and unpaid work, our panel will also explore intersectional approaches to gender and the economy. The intersection between gender and other demographics, such as socio-economic status, ethnic minorities, etc., might couple with gender-based discrimination to lead to poor health conditions, limited women’s agency or limited economic decision-making of women. As argued by Bina Agarwal, the absence or limited economic and property rights for women is the single most important economic factor affecting women’s situation, as she shows in her landmark work on gender and property in South Asia (1994). Contributions on different access to property rights and agency by women and men, as well as cultural differences and the role of gender norms, might be also additional topics for our debates.

We welcome gender approaches to economic theories, methods and economic and public policy debates. Both theoretical and empirical contributions, in which either case-study or cross-country studies, related to Asia or other regions of the globe, are very welcome. We suggest, but we are not limited to, the following topics.

• Gender distribution of time use, paid and unpaid work
• Gender stratification in education and labour market
• Social reproduction, care provision and consequences of family policies
• Global care chains, migration and women’s agency
• Gender differences in behavioural aspects and the role of
• The role of gender norms, cultural values and institutions on the economy
• Gender perspective in macroeconomic policies, financialization and globalization

ABOUT THE GENDER AND ECONOMICS WORKING GROUP

Studying the role gender within economic theory is a part of a general project to rethink economics in a different way, either as a revised version of conventional economics, or as a deep critique to the way economics is and has been framed.

HOW TO APPLY

To submit your abstract to this call, go to https://ysd.ineteconomics.org/rc. In your abstract, please clearly identify your research question, elaborate on methodology, and list your preliminary findings and/or tentative conclusions.

Apply here: https://ysd.ineteconomics.org/rc
Note: you must be logged into the YSI website to apply.
Deadline: 17 March 2019
Contact: [email protected]