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Loews Philadelphia, Congress B
Hosted By:
Union for Radical Political Economics
labor force, and the corresponding decrease in their performance of household production is in
and of itself progressive, i.e. that it constitutes progress towards a better world. To mainstream
neo-classical economists who ignore the very existence of household production, the substitution
of monetary income for “unpaid labor” results in a decrease in their official (monetary) measure
of the poverty level. In its Marxist version this claim takes the form of welcomed women into
what is seen as the “working class” movement against capital, where the term “working class”
refers only to those engaged in wage labor. It shares with some feminist versions a belief that
labor force participation frees women from the drudgery of housework. Other feminists see it, at
least in part, as a victory resulting from of women’s struggle against oppression within their
households.
This paper explains the long-term increase in women’s labor force participation as the result of
the continuous process of accumulation and expansion that characterizes the capitalist mode of
production. Its focus is thus on relations of production, which must be distinguished from
relations of sex-gender-age. It demands of us respect for the women who are primarily
responsible for household production, and an understanding of its place in capitalist exploitation
of the working class as a whole These in turn allow for a rethinking of the role of household (and
community) production in the organization of production in a socialist society that is structured
to promote the full development of human beings, and in the role of women in a socialist
movement.
workplaces and democratic planning in the economy. First, I review proposals for postcapitalism
and consider whether those institutional innovations are likely to address gender
equality and in what way. Then, I consider the example of faculty governance, as an example of
workplace decision making that has made a kind of progress towards equality for women, but
fails to achieve equality for women. It has also failed to achieve gender equality in terms of
enhancing an ethic of care through institutions that increasing conform to a neoliberal culture.
Finally, I consider what work needs to be done to build institutions that promote gender equity.
Research in Feminist Radical Political Economics
Paper Session
Friday, Jan. 5, 2018 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM
- Chair: Jennifer Cohen, Miami University & University of the Witwatersrand
Materials, Waged and Unwaged Work in Eco-conscious Households
Abstract
An investigation of household sustainability production makes possible the evaluation of the trade-offs inherent in these pro-environmental activities. The results suggest that policies promoting household-level sustainability efforts may be misguided. A transfer of institutional responsibility for environmental protection away from firms and the state and onto individuals and groups results in even greater burdens on households—whose time, budgets, and emotional capacities are already stretched to their limits. Without accompanying radical transformations in infrastructures and institutions—including the household—these efforts will always fall short of what is needed to fully protect people and the environment from harm.Women’s Household Production in the Capitalist Mode of Production
Abstract
It is widely assumed by both radical and mainstream economists that women’s entry into thelabor force, and the corresponding decrease in their performance of household production is in
and of itself progressive, i.e. that it constitutes progress towards a better world. To mainstream
neo-classical economists who ignore the very existence of household production, the substitution
of monetary income for “unpaid labor” results in a decrease in their official (monetary) measure
of the poverty level. In its Marxist version this claim takes the form of welcomed women into
what is seen as the “working class” movement against capital, where the term “working class”
refers only to those engaged in wage labor. It shares with some feminist versions a belief that
labor force participation frees women from the drudgery of housework. Other feminists see it, at
least in part, as a victory resulting from of women’s struggle against oppression within their
households.
This paper explains the long-term increase in women’s labor force participation as the result of
the continuous process of accumulation and expansion that characterizes the capitalist mode of
production. Its focus is thus on relations of production, which must be distinguished from
relations of sex-gender-age. It demands of us respect for the women who are primarily
responsible for household production, and an understanding of its place in capitalist exploitation
of the working class as a whole These in turn allow for a rethinking of the role of household (and
community) production in the organization of production in a socialist society that is structured
to promote the full development of human beings, and in the role of women in a socialist
movement.
Gender Inequality in Post-capitalism: Theorizing Institutions for Democratic Workplaces
Abstract
In this paper I explore the implications for gender equality of building democratic institutions inworkplaces and democratic planning in the economy. First, I review proposals for postcapitalism
and consider whether those institutional innovations are likely to address gender
equality and in what way. Then, I consider the example of faculty governance, as an example of
workplace decision making that has made a kind of progress towards equality for women, but
fails to achieve equality for women. It has also failed to achieve gender equality in terms of
enhancing an ethic of care through institutions that increasing conform to a neoliberal culture.
Finally, I consider what work needs to be done to build institutions that promote gender equity.
Discussant(s)
Sirisha Naidu
,
Wright State University
Kirstin Munro
,
St. John's University
Paddy Quick
,
St. Francis College
Barbara E. Hopkins
,
Wright State University
JEL Classifications
- B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches
- Q5 - Environmental Economics