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| Women and Economics | |
|---|---|
| Name | Women and Economics |
| Author | Charlotte Perkins Gilman |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Social science |
| Publisher | Small, Maynard & Company |
| Pub date | 1898 |
| Pages | 254 |
Women and Economics
Women and Economics is a seminal work that links analysis of labor, household organization, and social reform with discussions of suffrage, industrialization, and urbanization. The book influenced debates in United States social reform circles, intersected with contemporary writings by John Stuart Mill, resonated with activists in the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and informed later scholarship referenced in discussions at institutions such as Harvard University and London School of Economics. Its arguments circulated through networks involving figures like Susan B. Anthony, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Jane Addams, and thinkers associated with the Progressive Era.
Gilman situates her critique in the context of rapid change during the Gilded Age and the expansion of industrial capitals in United States cities such as New York City and Boston. Drawing on precedents in the work of John Stuart Mill, Harriet Martineau, and commentators from the first-wave feminist movement, she frames household labor, professionalization, and civic participation as intertwined with debates in legislatures like the Massachusetts General Court and reform initiatives by organizations such as the Settlement movement led by Hull House in Chicago. The book's reception connected it to lectures at venues like Smith College and publications in reviews read by members of the National Women's Trade Union League.
Gilman's analysis emerges amid historical processes involving the Industrial Revolution, the aftermath of the American Civil War, and urban migration patterns documented in records from Ellis Island. Her arguments echo intellectual currents from the Enlightenment, responses to policies debated in the British Parliament, and comparative studies linking European developments in Germany, France, and Scandinavia to North American experiences. Influential contemporaries and successors—Florence Kelley, Ida B. Wells, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Alexandra Kollontai—engaged related themes in labor reform, suffrage campaigns, and social legislation such as debates surrounding the Factory Acts and municipal reforms promoted by Progressive Era officials like Theodore Roosevelt.
The text foregrounds shifts in labor force participation associated with industrial expansion in centers like Pittsburgh, Manchester, and Tokyo. Discussions intersect with labor movements including the AFL–CIO, the history of unions such as the Industrial Workers of the World, and strikes chronicled in events like the Haymarket affair and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Scholars and activists from institutions like Columbia University, University of Chicago, and Wellesley College have traced patterns of occupational segregation and entry barriers that relate to policy debates in bodies such as the U.S. Congress and legislative reforms modeled after ordinances in San Francisco and London.
Gilman's critique prefigures later measurement efforts by scholars at organizations like the Brookings Institution, International Labour Organization, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Historical case studies reference disparities documented in census reports from the United States Census Bureau and comparative analyses across nations such as Sweden, Japan, and Brazil. Debates over pay equity engaged advocates in legal forums including the U.S. Supreme Court and legislative initiatives akin to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, while research programs at Princeton University and University of Oxford advanced econometric approaches to measuring wage gaps and income distribution.
A central contribution is the emphasis on unpaid domestic labor performed in households across cities like Philadelphia and Montreal and rural regions in states such as Iowa and Kentucky. Later empirical work by researchers at University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, and the United Nations Development Programme operationalized time-use surveys similar to methods used by statistical offices in Canada and Australia. Feminist economists and advocates associated with groups including UN Women, Oxfam, and the World Bank used such data in campaigns for social insurance, childcare subsidies, and family policy reforms debated in parliaments like the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Gilman's proposals for professionalization and cooperative households linked to contemporaneous expansions in higher education at institutions such as Radcliffe College, Vassar College, and Mount Holyoke College. Subsequent research by economists at Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Cambridge examined returns to education, skill formation, and labor market signaling in contexts shaped by policies from ministries such as the United States Department of Education and international programs promoted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
The book informed advocacy for public provisioning and institutional reform that later influenced legislation and programs promoted by actors including municipal governments in New York City and national administrations in Canada and Sweden. Policy instruments referenced in subsequent literature include social insurance schemes developed in the spirit of reforms like those associated with the New Deal, labor protections modeled on Fair Labor Standards Act frameworks, and family policy innovations discussed at conferences convened by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Analyses following Gilman incorporated regional differences observable between metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles and Chicago, cross-national contrasts among India, China, and Germany, and intersectional perspectives foregrounded by scholars and activists including bell hooks, Angela Davis, Patricia Hill Collins, and movements like Black feminist organizing. Studies drawing on data from agencies like the European Commission and research centers at University of Cape Town highlighted how race, class, and migration status shape patterns of labor, care, and policy access, echoing debates in transnational venues such as the World Social Forum.
Category:Feminist economics