Employmentweb_low

EMployMEnT, worK, and HEalTH inEqualiTiEs - a global perspective
another notable aspect tackled recently by feminist economics involves so-called “gender budgets”, public budgets with
a gender perspective or sensitivity (elson, 1998). traditionally, public budgets have been elabourated taking into account only
the visible side of the economy, without recognising unpaid housework and caring. this has prevented them from
considering that women and men are situated in different social positions and that, as a result, the effects of budgetary
policies are not neutral, but indeed differentiated by sex and gender. a gender-sensitive budget recognises the social and
economic structure which determines the different needs, privileges, rights and obligations of women and men in society;
it makes the differentiated contributions of each to the production of goods and services visible and, in particular, attaches
value to the caring work performed by women. a budget of this type forces a reappraisal and re-elabouration of priorities
and the re-orientation of programmes and policies.
the conjunction between new data that are becoming available and the elabouration of gender budgets has led to the
development of new, non-andocentric indicators of “wellbeing” which try to account for living and working conditions in their
various dimensions. in this way, they recover the feminine experience and consider the various social processes, both
market-related and otherwise, in an integrated manner (carrasco, 2007). We must emphasise that the idea of human wellbeing
is a complex, multi-dimensional concept which cannot simply be reduced to the level of income. it is highly related
with living conditions as well as the physical, intellectual and relational experiences of individuals in a particular context and
under certain conditions. it also includes aspects that are fundamental to the development of human life such as the
satisfaction of needs for direct bodily, emotional and affective care, all of which are developed in the home.
one field of study that is strongly related to the living and working conditions of women and men is that of health and
quality of life. in this case, the aforementioned aspects are partly reflected by inequalities in the health of women and men
in relation to their differing positions in society. these differences are closely related with the types of work people do, such
as full-time housework, the possible existence of “double roles”, greater or lesser opportunities for organising one’s own
leisure time, income levels, harassment and violence directed at women, and so on. health status, in turn, has
consequences for other areas of life. For example, enjoying better health opens the door to greater chances to participate
in job-related social activities, leisure time activities, social and political involvement, etc.
Finally, it is important to mention that feminist economics recognises that, in addition to sex or gender inequalities,
there are other axes of inequalities which cut across society a way that provoke inequalities between women themselves,
basically based on ethnic and social class differences. take, for example, the social inequalities present in the labour
market, where precariousness has less impact on better-qualified, native women, or in the home setting, where women with
a higher socio-economic level can afford to have part of their household’s domestic and caring burden covered by paid
workers, typically poor foreign women.
References
benería, l. (2005). Género, desarrollo y globalización. barcelona: editorial hacer.
carrasco, c. (ed.). (2007). Estadístiques sota sospita. Proposta de nous indicadors des de l'experiència femenina. barcelona:
institut català de les Dones.
elson, D. (1998). integrating gender issues into national budgetary policies and procedures: some policy options. Journal of
International Development, 10(7), 929-941.
Folbre, n. (2001). The invisible heart: Economics and family values. new York: new press.
perdices de blas, l., & gallego, e. (2007). Mujeres economistas. Madrid: ecobook.
pérez, a. (2006). Perspectivas feministas en torno a la economía: el caso de los cuidados. Madrid: consejo económico y social.
picchio, a. (1996). the analytical and political visibility of the work of social reproduction. background papers. Human
Development Report, 89-104.
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