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2022/2023

Economics and Gender Inequality

Code: 105804 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2503878 Sociocultural Gender Studies OB 2 2

Contact

Name:
Alberta Toniolo
Email:
alberta.toniolo@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Prerequisites

Prerequisites

There is no official prerequisite to properly follow the subject. However, it is recommended that students have a minimum knowledge base of economics and contemporary history, in order to make the most of lessons, readings and exercises. Basic knowledge of English will also facilitate access to a wider range of resources (bibliographic and audiovisual) with which to work to carry out the intermediate tests to be assessed.

 

 

Objectives and Contextualisation

The general objective of the subject is to equip oneself with the knowledge and intellectual tools to be able to:

 1. recognize and analyze the relationship between the economy and gender inequality;

 2. understand why the gender inequality and discrimination are also the result of economic inequality.

 

 The specific objectives are:

 1. To know the main macroeconomic concepts and the qualitative and quantitative variables that indicate the phenomena of gender inequality associated with income inequality.

 2. To adopt a perspective of multidisciplinary analysis that allows to integrate the facts and processes of economic nature with those of institutional and sociocultural character.

 3. Distinguish the socio-economic mechanisms that, in the past as well as in the present, characterized and characterize gender relations, binary and non-binary.

 4. Identify the factors that drive the construction and reproduction of gender socio-economic inequality, with special attention to cultural values, norms and institutions that affect differences in inequitable status.

 5. Know who are - and can be - the effective political actions to reduce the glass ceiling and the economic gap between the genders.

 

 

Competences

  • Formulate, argue and discuss your own and others' ideas in a respectful, critical and reasoned way.
  • Identify the basic legal concepts, legislation and jurisprudence related to the rights of the collectives affected by gender inequalities. 
  • Incorporate the non-androcentric perspective in the work carried out.
  • Participate in the preparation, implementation and dissemination of equality policies in the economic sphere (budgets, work organization, structural inequality) and in the labor market (salaries, promotion, conciliation).
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Identify specific indicators of welfare that allow the elaboration of public policies.
  2. Incorporate the non-androcentric perspective in the work carried out.
  3. Integrate the gender perspective in the preparation of a budget.
  4. Interpret labor standards, doctrine and jurisprudence with a gender perspective.
  5. Prepare an organized and correct speech, orally and in writing, in the corresponding language.
  6. Propose solutions to the issues raised with the Equality Law.
  7. Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  8. Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  9. Use instruments to alleviate or reverse inequalities in the workplace.
  10. Use the specific technical vocabulary and own interpretation of the required disciplines.

Content

Introduction

The economy is political, the economy has gender

Topic 1

1.1. The study of women and gender in economics

1.2. The feminist economy: birth, consolidation and current variants

1.3. Theory of abilities and human development

Topic 2

2.1. The sexual division of labor: educational levels, horizontal and vertical segregation

2.2. The labor market and gender: employment, ceilings and gaps

2.3. The scourge of non-remuneration and invisibility

Topic 3

3.1. Neoliberal policies and the process of globalization

3.2. Poverty has gender: the European and world maps of scarcity and hunger

3.3. Effects of major neoliberal restructuring on women's living conditions and labor market. Case study

Topic 4

4.1. The socioeconomic factors of the "witch hunt" of the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries

4.2. The socioeconomic factors of persecution of LGTBI people in various historical and territorial contexts

 

Methodology

Complementary learning activities:

Lectures

Classroom debates

Completion of practice exercises in the classroom

Attendance at seminars

Tutorials

Elaboration of written works based on readings and search for information

Reading of bibliography of an academic nature and reports of interest

Use of audiovisual resources (interviews, films, documentaries)

Virtual Campus of the subject

 

 

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Master classes with the use of ITC 48 1.92 5, 1, 2, 8, 7, 10, 9
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials 10 0.4 5, 1, 2, 3, 7, 10
Type: Autonomous      
Reading and studying 49 1.96 5, 8, 7, 10
Two written essays based on recommended readings and the search for study resources 43 1.72 5, 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 9

Assessment

The evaluation will consist of the INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE of:

A. Two mandatory written assignments, on issues raised in the field of the different topics of the program. The first work corresponds to themes 1 and 2; the second work corresponds to theme 3. Both works will have to be delivered within the deadlines respectively indicated at the beginning of the course for the professor of the subject. Each work will be worth 20% of the final mark, but failure to deliver a job within the established period will mean a mark equivalent to 0, with the loss of the corresponding 20% of the final mark.

B. A written exam at the end of the course, based on three essay questions, which will be worth 45% of the final mark. Maximum mark for each question = 3.3 points

C. The remaining 15% of the final grade will be obtained through active participation in the classes: carrying out the practice exercises in the classroom, contributing to the debates in the classroom and in the CV, answering questions, formulating questions and exhibition of own reflections pertinent to the contents developed in class.

Recovery exam

To have access to the recovery exam it is necessary that the students:

- have been evaluated in a set of activities that represents a minimum of two thirds of the total mark of the subject (= 67%);

- have obtained a final mark for the subject between 3.5 and 4.9.

The recovery exam will consist of 5 exercises: 4 essay questions about the whole program; and 1 comment on one of the graphs worked on during the practice exercises. Each answer will be worth a maximum mark of 2.0 points. The student who passes the make-up exam will pass the course with a mark of 5.0. Otherwise, the final mark obtained with the continuous evaluation process will be maintained.

 

In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (the original weighing will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Instructors will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities, the student will receive a zero as the final grade for the class.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Active participation in classes 15% of the final mark 0 0 5, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 9
Final final exam based on essay questions 45% of the final mark 0 0 5, 1, 2, 3, 10, 9
Two written essays on issues raised within the scope of the program, on recommended readings and search for materials Total 40% of the final mark (each essay done = 20% of the final mark) 0 0 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 7, 10, 9

Bibliography

Orientative bibliography

 

Akelorf, G.A. - Kranton, R.E. (2010), Identity Economics. How ours Identities Shape our Work, Wages, and Well-Being, Princeton University Press: Oxfordshire.

Becchio, G. (2019), A History of Feminism and Gender Economics. Routledge: Oxfordshire.

Becker, G. (1987), Tratado sobre la familia. Alianza Universidad: Madrid. Pp. 9-16 and 128-152.

Benería, L. y Sarasua, C.  (2010) "¿A quién afecta el recorte del gasto?", El País, 28/10/2010.

Benería, L. - Berik, G. - Floro, M.S. (2018), Género, desarrollo y globalización. Una visión desde la economía feminista. Edicions Bellaterra: Barcelona.

Blau, F. - Ferber, M. - Winkler, A. (2016), The Economics of Women, Men and Work, Oxford University Press: Oxford.

Blossfeld, H.P. - Skipek, J. - Triventi, M. -Buchholz, S. (Eds) (2015), Gender, Education and Employment. An International Comparison of School-to-Work Transitions. Edward Elgar: Cheltenham.

Boll, C. - Leppin, J. - Rossen, A. - Wolf, A. (2016), Magnitude and Impact Factors on the Gender Pay Gap in EU Countries. European Commission: Luxemburg.

Cook, J. - Roberts, J. - Waylen, G. (2000), Towards a Gendered Political Economy. Palgrave Macmillan: London. 

Corriveau, P. - Roth, K. (2011), Judging Homosexuals: A History of Gay Persecution in Quebec and France, UBC Press, Vancouver.

Craven Nussbaum, M. (2012), Las mujeres y el desarrollo humano. Herder Editorial: Barcelona.

Cunningham, S. - Shah, M. (2016), The Oxford Handbook of Economics of Prostitution. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

Daly, H.E. - Farley, J. (2004), Ecological Economics: Principles and Practice, Island Press: Washington D.C.

Dugard, J. - Porter, B. - Ikawa, D.- Chenwi, L. (2020), Research Handbook on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights as Human Rights, Edward Elgar Publishing:Northampton, Massachusetts.

Feci, S. - Schettini L. (2017), "La violenza contro le donne nella storia", Volume 8 of Storia delle donne e del genere, Viella Libreria Editrice: Roma. 

Goldin, C. (‎2006), "The quiet revolution that transformed women’s employment, education and family”, NBER Working Papers, 11953 https://www.nber.org/papers/w11953

Heberer, E.M. (2014), Prostitution. En Economic Perspective on its Past, Present, and Future. Springer: Berlin.

Lynch, K. - Feeley, M. (2009): Gender and Education (and Employment). Gendered Imperatives and their implications for Women and Men. Lessons for Research for Policy Makers. NESSE and European Commission.

Lee, R. (2003), “The demographic transition: three centuries of fundamental change”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17, 4, pp. 167-190.

Lee, R. and others (2014), "Is low fertility really a problem? Population aging, dependency, and consumption. Science, 20, pp. 346, 229: http://www. Sciencemag.org

Matías Cortes, G. - Jaimovich, N. - Siu, H.E. (2016), “The End of Men and Rise of Women in the High-Skilled Labor Market.” Working Paper:  http://www.econ.quensu.ca/files/other/Siu%20paper%20endofmen20160920.pdf

Meyer, D. (2015), Violence against Queer People. Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Nelson, J. (1995), “Feminism and Economics”, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 9, 2, pp. 131-148. www.jstor.org/stable/2138170

Nussbaum, M.C. (2000), Women and Human Development, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge

Oster, E.F. (2004), "Witchcraft, Weather and Economic Growth in Renaissance Europe", Journal of Economic Perspective, Available at  SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=522403

Pazos, Morán, M. (2016), "Roles de género y políticas públicas", ST73, pp. 5-23: https://recyt.fecyt.es/index.php/sociologiatrabajo/article/view/55571

Pazos Morán, M. (2008), "Género, orientación del presupuesto y eficiencia económica" En María Pazos-Morán (ed.): Economía e igualdad de género: retos de la hacienda pública en el siglo XXI. Instituto de Estudios Fiscales.

Sampietro, J.L. (2009), Economía humanista. Algo más que cifras. Penguin Random House: Barcelona.

Sarasua, C. (2014), "Por un reenfoque del análisis feminista de la crisis":  http://www.carmensarasua.es/descargas/articulosprensa_pressarticles/Revista%20digital%20Con%20la%20A%20Economia%20y%20Trabajo%2031%202014.pdf

Sen, A.K. (2000), Desarrollo y libertad. Planeta: Barcelona.

Sen, A.K. (2001), La desigualdad económica. Fondo de Cultura Económica: México D.F.

Smakov, A. (2018), "Economic Origins of Witch Hunting", Studies in Business and Economics, 13 (3), pp. 214-229.

Truzzoli, C. (2020), Desbordando sexo y género. El amplio abanico de las identidades. Edicions Bellaterra: Barcelona.

Software

Word, PDF and PowerPoint. At the beginning of the classes, specific instructions will be given on: 1. the software to be used during the course; 2. the coordinates of the online research to look for documentation and data pertinents to the contents of the subject.