Course description

In 2020, the United States celebrated the 100th anniversary of (white) women’s suffrage and elected the first woman as Vice President. In recent years, historic numbers of women were elected to the US Congress and the #MeToo movement upended longstanding norms about the interactions of men and women in the workplace. The intersections between gender and public and economic life are more salient than ever.

This course explores the gender dimensions of economic life by examining the contributions of women and men --- as employed workers, care providers, subsistence producers, volunteer workers, and homemakers. By introducing students to gender economics, the course seeks to enhance understanding of human development, particularly the role of economic and social processes and their distinct effects on the well-being of men and women.

Learning objectives

• Explain economic theories relevant to gender topics (including division of labor in the home and workplace, gender gaps in compensation, and occupational segregation)

• Apply theories and concepts of gender economics to deepen your understanding of real individuals’ choices and experiences

• Collect, organize and analyze relevant social science research and data

• Define and calculate measurements and indicators of gender inquality

• Summarize major trends in gender economics (e.g. household divisions of labor, relationship status, gender gaps in wages and occupational segregation by global region)

Course Readings

All reading assignments are available through course reserves or as a pdf through Canvas. No purchases are required. Two textbooks which will be used frequently are: 

Eswaran, Mukesh. 2014. Why Gender Matters in Economics. Princeton University Press. (Unlimited electronic access through AU library)

Hoffman, Saul D., and Susan L. Averett. 2021. Women and the Economy: Family, Work and Pay. 4th Edition. Bloomsbury Publishing. (Electronic access through Course Reserves, limited to 1 user at a time. Can be rented or purchased in electronic or hard copy for $40-$45)

What students are saying...

Excerpts from course wrap-up sessions

"I had an interview the other day where I used this class as one of my qualifications. It was so helpful to know technical details for things we commonly talk about; for example the difference between the gender earnings gap and the gender wage gap." (Kennedy, Fall 20)

"I'm a very policy-oriented person and I appreciated the deep dive into policy issues in this class. It really strengthened my understanding of how these policies work and why and how they impact markets. That has helped me in other areas of my studies." (Meredith, Fall 20)

"I learned a lot about the difference between equal access and equitable policies. A level playing field is not always the equitable solution and that was really a revelation to me." (Chuck, Fall 20)

"A lot of the concepts we talked about in this class helped me better understand some of the decisions my mom has made over her lifetime and its kinda' made us closer." (Lama, Fall 20)

"It was interesting to see how much more research there is about women vis-a-vis men than there is about the economic aspects of being trans or non-binary. I really appreciated learning the reasons why that is true and about current efforts to expand the research" (Dhanya, Fall 20)

"I really learned a lot about the different things that impact a woman's opportunities to succeed and the economics behind the roadblocks" (Alyssa, Spring 21)

"I knew about some of these issues beforehand but I hadn't made the connection between them and economics" (Barb, Spring 21)

Comments from student course evaluations

"The content was extremely interesting and I really enjoyed learning about all the different themes, concepts, and theories not just from a Western standpoint, but also in regards to the Global South. I also really appreciated the importance and reminders of intersectionality, a lot of economics classes are taken from a very CIS white male perspective, and it was different in this instance, which I greatly appreciated. Very refreshing, and actually encouraged me to critique the work I was reading even more."

"I really enjoyed how clearly passionate Professor Jones is about this topic – it really shined through in each and every lecture. I especially enjoyed the guest lecturers that were brought into class because they added some variety and additional expertise to specific topics. I appreciated how Professor Jones is committed to diverse perspectives in economics and tried to bring in diverse perspectives as much as possible. I also appreciated that Professor Jones internalized and responded to student feedback about workload of the course."

"Everything was very organized in canvas and easy to access. The expectations for assignments and participation were very clear. I appreciated this and it helped me succeed."