“Political Economics of Gender or Feminist Economics?”: Working Toward Equality

What differences and similarities exist between feminist economics and the political economics of gender? This is the question that Sciences Po’s Hélène Périvier and Grenoble Alpes University’s Guillaume Vallet came together to discuss in “Political Economics of Gender or Feminist Economy?”. During this online event, hosted on the 23rd of February, 2022 by Sciences Po’s School of Public Affairs and the PRESAGE programme, Lamia Mounaveraly, a student at the School of Public Affairs, moderated the discussion by selecting and contextualizing audience questions. From equality, to the uses and pitfalls of categorization, to the role of public policy within feminist and gender economics, the conversation was as in depth as it was far-reaching, exploring the complexities of these important social topics.

Feminist Economics as a Critical Lens

The discussion began by situating the two intellectual lenses employed by each economist in their recent books. For Hélène Périvier, economist at Sciences Po’s OFCE and director of the PRESAGE programme, feminist economics works to “measure certain phenomena—inequality and discrimination” in order to work towards gender equality. For her, “feminist economics is not a school of thought” but rather, feminist critiques “inform all schools of thought”. In her conception, it is a critical lens that is constantly being renewed and thus can be applied across disciplines and eras. In her book L'économie féministe (Presses de Sciences Po, 2020), she explores these ideas, noting that, “economics has much to contribute to feminist thought” and vice versa.

One of the essential aspects of the feminist perspective on economics is the acknowledgement that the discipline itself was formed based on gender stereotypes that relegated women to essentialist gender roles (caregivers, homemakers, etc.). As she notes, the field of economics was shaped by their exclusion: “We cannot deny that the way in which the field was constructed, that the fact that there are very few women, had an effect not only on the tools that were developed, but also on the questions that were being asked.” As she notes, “The economy was mainly theorized by men—even if women participated and contributed to the creation of these fields—to serve a society governed by men.”

Economics of Gender: Deconstructing the Myth of “Neutrality”

Functioning in continuity with feminist economics, political gender economics tends to question the economic system as a whole and the individual’s subject position within it. For Guillaume Vallet, Professor of Economics at Grenoble Alpes University and author of Économie politique du genre (De Boeck, 2020), thinking about gender economics—as with feminist economics—asks us to “reflect on our way of working, on our subject position” within society. As he noted, “Gender leads us to reflect on the relationship between our subjectivity, our neutrality, and objectivity”, going on to note that it leads us to an understanding that “neutrality does not exist”. Rather, it “leads us towards a form of subjectivity, yet this subjectivity must tend toward objectivity in order to be intellectually valid”.

Indeed, the perspective that has historically been considered neutral, as Hélène Périvier highlighted, has been that of men in a society in which women were relegated to the domestic sphere. This lack of existence of a neutral perspective, therefore, as Guillaume Vallet notes, “leads us to question the existence of categories” altogether, as well as to push back against systemic inequalities.

As Guillaume Vincent notes, “Working on questions of inequality is not only a question of measuring them, it also means asking oneself, “To what extent do these inequalities raise questions regarding the collective distribution of wealth? To what extent are these inequalities a threat, or in other approaches, an opportunity—as relates to the political system.”

Feminist Economics vs. Gender Economics: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

As the two economists noted, studies including the concept of gender (the range of characteristics linked to femininity and masculinity) and feminism (the belief in and advocacy for gender equality) are inherently linked. In the words of Hélène Périvier, “there is not necessarily a difference or opposition between the two”. Both lenses for reflection are deeply interested in how gendered social structures reproduce inequality.

As Guillaume Vallet affirmed, “I don’t necessarily see an opposition between the two. I began my research on gender as a structuring societal system, based upon power dynamics linked to the question of the production and distribution of resources… I include feminist ideas, but I also reflect of multiple perspectives on gender and sexuality.”

Ultimately, these approaches are important in understanding the economy and the ways in which economics interact with questions of inequality in our society. These subjects can be mobilized in the political sphere because, as Gaullaume Villat said, “Politicians need expertise to make informed decisions” and hopefully, in the process, reduce economic inequality in our society.

The Sciences Po Editorial Team

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