Feminist economics: the obstacles US women face under capitalism
Guardian US’s new series reveals the dilemmas women face in a nation in which parity in pay, political representation and more remain out of reach
Supported by
About this contentNoa Yachot and Nicole Clark
Wed 5 Feb 2020 06.00 GMTLast modified on Wed 5 Feb 2020 06.42 GM
Illustration: Sarah Mazzetti/The Guardian
Why does it cost more to be a woman than a man in so many spheres of American life? Why is America’s treatment of mothers so out of sync with other developed nations? Why do women have less free time than men? And why do women face so much pressure to spend money and time on grooming, from eyebrow waxing to makeup?
These are the some of the questions we’ll explore in Feminist economics, our new series revealing the myriad obstacles women face under American capitalism. Parity in pay, political representation, household obligations and more remain well out of reach, and the disparities are frequently exacerbated when gender bias intersects with racial discrimination.
Our launch stories today reveal how a lack of paid parental leave is forcing women to make almost impossible choices about whether to stay pregnant, and whether salary transparency is a solution to gender wage inequity. We’ll also report on the cost of breastfeeding, whether the gig economy is working for women, and the toll taken by endless pressures to beautify – as well as on the women who are asking whether life has to be this way.
By some accounts, the American economy is working better than ever for women. They now hold more payroll jobs – 50.04% – than men according to the last jobs report. They make up a majority of the college-educated workforce and earn more than 57% of bachelor’s degrees.
But should we be celebrating?
Lifetime healthcare costs are a third higher than for men, one in four women are forced to return to work two weeks after childbirth, a transgender woman might see her income drop by one-third after transitioning, and only one Fortune 500 company is headed by a woman of color.
If time is money, then here, too, women are behind. Many readers won’t be surprised to learn that American women spend an average of two hours more a day than men on household labor and care work.
On top of the time devoted to managing their households, adult women spend an average of nearly an hour a day on their appearance. They don’t do so frivolously: grooming habits have been found to disproportionately boost women’s salaries, and women who wear makeup are perceived to be more competent.
Women may be rising in workforce numbers, but the gender pay gap, perhaps the most widely recognizable measure of inequality, holds steady. Women make about 85 cents to the dollar made by white men. It’s worse for black women, who make about 61 cents for every dollar made by white men. Education isn’t always the answer: black women with advanced degrees earn less than white men with bachelor’s degrees.
Oxfam has estimated that unpaid labor performed globally by women and girls is worth more than $10.8tn annually – three times the size of the world’s tech industry. Yet unpaid labor – the backbone of a functioning society, which keeps us fed and sustains our children and elders – isn’t just unremunerated, but uncounted. Gross domestic product (GDP), the dominant indicator of economic health and guide for government policy, only measures paid labor, effectively making invisible the unpaid labor of women.
In recent decades, feminist economics has emerged as an academic discipline to address the roots of gender inequality and promote policies that take half the world’s population into account. Doing so effectively, however, requires challenging some popular assumptions about how the economy works.
Gender disparities are often explained as matters of personal choice, “like women choosing to go into professions that happen to be paid less”, says Dr Kate Bahn, a feminist economist and the director of labor market policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.
In modern America, however, women have not necessarily chosen how value is apportioned in the economy. It’s past time, many argue, that they had an equal say.
Why does it cost more to be a woman than a man in so many spheres of American life? Why is America’s treatment of mothers so out of sync with other developed nations? Why do women have less free time than men? And why do women face so much pressure to spend money and time on grooming, from eyebrow waxing to makeup?
These are the some of the questions we’ll explore in Feminist economics, our new series revealing the myriad obstacles women face under American capitalism. Parity in pay, political representation, household obligations and more remain well out of reach, and the disparities are frequently exacerbated when gender bias intersects with racial discrimination.
Our launch stories today reveal how a lack of paid parental leave is forcing women to make almost impossible choices about whether to stay pregnant, and whether salary transparency is a solution to gender wage inequity. We’ll also report on the cost of breastfeeding, whether the gig economy is working for women, and the toll taken by endless pressures to beautify – as well as on the women who are asking whether life has to be this way.
By some accounts, the American economy is working better than ever for women. They now hold more payroll jobs – 50.04% – than men according to the last jobs report. They make up a majority of the college-educated workforce and earn more than 57% of bachelor’s degrees.
But should we be celebrating?
Lifetime healthcare costs are a third higher than for men, one in four women are forced to return to work two weeks after childbirth, a transgender woman might see her income drop by one-third after transitioning, and only one Fortune 500 company is headed by a woman of color.
If time is money, then here, too, women are behind. Many readers won’t be surprised to learn that American women spend an average of two hours more a day than men on household labor and care work.
On top of the time devoted to managing their households, adult women spend an average of nearly an hour a day on their appearance. They don’t do so frivolously: grooming habits have been found to disproportionately boost women’s salaries, and women who wear makeup are perceived to be more competent.
Women may be rising in workforce numbers, but the gender pay gap, perhaps the most widely recognizable measure of inequality, holds steady. Women make about 85 cents to the dollar made by white men. It’s worse for black women, who make about 61 cents for every dollar made by white men. Education isn’t always the answer: black women with advanced degrees earn less than white men with bachelor’s degrees.
Oxfam has estimated that unpaid labor performed globally by women and girls is worth more than $10.8tn annually – three times the size of the world’s tech industry. Yet unpaid labor – the backbone of a functioning society, which keeps us fed and sustains our children and elders – isn’t just unremunerated, but uncounted. Gross domestic product (GDP), the dominant indicator of economic health and guide for government policy, only measures paid labor, effectively making invisible the unpaid labor of women.
In recent decades, feminist economics has emerged as an academic discipline to address the roots of gender inequality and promote policies that take half the world’s population into account. Doing so effectively, however, requires challenging some popular assumptions about how the economy works.
Gender disparities are often explained as matters of personal choice, “like women choosing to go into professions that happen to be paid less”, says Dr Kate Bahn, a feminist economist and the director of labor market policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.
In modern America, however, women have not necessarily chosen how value is apportioned in the economy. It’s past time, many argue, that they had an equal say.
No comments:
Post a Comment