Women’s Studies and Economics

The other night I was talking with my wife and the topic of Women’s Studies came up. It got me thinking, what exactly is taught in a Women’s Studies class.

I have been reading Economicwoman a blog on feminism and economics from an undergraduate student at Toronto University. I’m starting to get a sense of how the two subjects might link from it. One blog (Economicwoman) linked to was Economics-She-Wrote written by Susan Feiner who is professor of Economics and Women’s Studies at Southern Maine University.

The entry (linked here) has an imaginary panel discussion between Women’s Studies and Economics. I enjoyed the post, and think it does a good job of introducing basic economic ideas to Women’s Studies framewok, but I would like to see the reverse.


As someone who writes about gender issue in developing countries (particularly how men and women negotiate household decisions), I wonder what insights Women’s Studies might have for economics, so I hope that Dr. Feiner will write another panel where Women’s Studies is introduced to economists.

Or perhaps you can help this economist out? What ideas from Women's Studies do economists need to know?