PSCI530 - Political Economy Gender

Over the past two hundred years, with the rise industrial production, growing educational attainment, and availability of contraception, women have entered the formal labor market in vast numbers. Yet despite advances, there are still important disparities between the sexes, often exacerbated by class and racial politics. This course unpacks the elements of the transition in the political economy of gender and examines its limits. We set out to understand women's labor in emerging industrial and post-industrial economies; the causes and consequences of women's political inclusion; gendered opportunities in the labor force including the persistence of pay gaps; and the formation of economic and political preferences across the genders. Theoretically, we will engage with Marxian political economy, and new institutionalist approaches to understand how political and economic institutions reproduce or remedy contemporary problems including the gender gap in wages, in political representation, and in women's economic opportunities. Throughout the course we will pay special attention to challenges faced by minority groups and by women in developing countries.