Gender researchers would like to hear more about everyday economic discussions
For four years, Hanna Ylöstalo, Heini Kinnunen, Emma Lamberg, Inna Perheentupa, and Taru Lepistö have focused on the intersections of the economy and gender. As part of their research, they produced a podcast series on the economy, feminism, and their studies.
The podcasts and a peer-reviewed guide on critical economic literacy (Feminismiä talouteen, Gaudeamus 2024, in Finnish) published at the end of their research are popular outputs aimed at a broader audience. The researchers are developing critical feminist economic literacy in a dialogue with NGOs, activists, and students.
Their inclusion of civil society is rooted in their research theme, which examines the role and power of knowledge and expertise in economic policy. They are critical of the dominant role of economists’ expert knowledge in economic policy discussions.
Associate Professor Hanna Ylöstalo views the research as a way to engage with society at large. The researchers also reach out to those who do not participate in the activities of NGOs or political parties.
“When discussing economic policy, requiring expert status can be undemocratic because political discussions concern everyone and should be inclusive. Discussions also need participants beyond male politicians and economists. That is why we have aimed to provide civil society actors with the tools they need to participate in economic policy discussions from their own perspectives,” Ylöstalo says.
The researchers aim to equip marginalised people with the tools to voice their views in economic discussions.
Economic policy has gender impacts
Gender researchers point out that the economy is often seen as a difficult topic, even though wages and salaries, consumption, social benefits, taxes, and public services affect everyone’s daily life.
From a feminist perspective, the economy is a gendered system. For scholars, gender studies is a way to make inequality visible and critically examine it. Feminist perspective on the economy reveals inequalities deeply rooted in the economic system, defined by gender, race, and social class.
Ylöstalo and the research group do not offer specific economic policy concepts and metrics but aim to broaden how people perceive the economy.
“It’s not just about GDP, national debt, or employment effects, but also about the salaries of early childhood education teachers, the well-being of caregivers, and gender equality,” Ylöstalo explains.
“Economic policy decisions impact different groups in various ways because, for example, labour markets are gendered. Gender also influences poverty and the use of public services, meaning that economic policy always has gender implications,” Ylöstalo notes.
Putting care and housework on the agenda
A feminist perspective views the economy as a whole, encompassing both the so-called productive and reproductive economies. In everyday life, reproductive work is primarily done in the public sector: in social and health services, education, and cleaning. However, it is also performed as unpaid work at home.
Social reproduction, both as a theoretical concept and in everyday practice, produces and sustains life, the labour force, culture, and communities. From a feminist viewpoint, reproduction is economic activity that often remains in the background, or it is left entirely outside economic discussions in society.
“Even when reproductive work is paid, it is undervalued and low-paid. When it is unpaid, the work remains completely invisible in society. Time-use studies show that women do most of the unpaid housework,” says Ylöstalo.
An example from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic highlights this issue: while almost all societal activities were temporarily halted, reproductive work, such as caregiving, continued.
“Unfortunately, this did not change how the societal significance of these sectors was perceived. Nurses were applauded and buildings were lit up, but caregivers received no financial compensation. I think this underlines the position of reproductive work as being outside the economy,” Ylöstalo says.
Moreover, Ylöstalo believes that ignoring social reproduction had tangible consequences. When the value of this work is not recognised, female-dominated public social and health services become easy targets for budget cuts and austerity measures.
“In economic policy, reproductive work is often discussed as a cost rather than considering its economic and societal benefits,” Ylöstalo reflects.
Societal impact also involves asking questions
Examining issues beyond traditional perspectives helps us see that economic structures and society could be different. Feminist research openly aims for change, which requires making the power structures visible.
“In addition to producing an understanding of the world and its gendered structures, the task of gender studies is to offer a vision of a better future,” Ylöstalo says.
As a researcher, Ylöstalo does not see herself as answering pre-defined questions posed by others. She believes that a researcher does not need to conform to a predefined role. Despite often participating in committee hearings and conducting government-funded research projects, Ylöstalo does not feel obliged to produce information on the gender impacts of pre-set policy measures. Instead, she focuses on understanding phenomena more broadly.
“I want to challenge the idea of societal impact. The concept is understood quite narrowly if research is seen merely as a response to questions defined by societal elites such as politicians. A researcher should be able to criticise the economic system even without offering a concrete political programme,” Ylöstalo asserts.
“Impact also means asking questions. It is about offering new perspectives. Research can also start from the bottom up and bring out voices from the grassroots level,” she says.
Making research accessible to new audiences through podcasts and books
Ylöstalo is particularly interested in podcasts because they reach audiences who do not read peer-reviewed research articles.
“Social sciences conduct research that broadly impacts society, which is why it is important to bring our findings to the public and not keep them confined within the academic community,” Ylöstalo says.
According to Ylöstalo, podcasts are part of the tradition of disseminating scientific knowledge, where researchers engage in discussions in various ways, including teaching, which is often overlooked. Instead of using the term popularisation, Ylöstalo prefers to talk about making scientific knowledge accessible, as podcasts are a means to share research findings.
“The podcast is a great form of scientific expression because it teaches you to summarise research results in a new way. The ability to make things concrete and discuss research with new audiences develops over time,” she explains.
The research group avoided excessive simplification in their research-based podcasts and book. Instead, they aimed to make the concepts concrete, use examples, and explain the terms used in research. Summaries and info boxes also help the readers. The outputs were made accessible without compromising scientific content.
“We want to spark feminist economic thinking. We also present existing alternative economic visions, such as wellbeing economy and degrowth, but from a gender perspective. The ultimate goal is to nurture the readers’ critical thinking, not to offer a ready-made feminist economic action plan,” Ylöstalo concludes.
Read more:
Podcast: Feminismiä talouteen! – Politiikasta (in Finnish)
The podcast is part of the Equality to economics, feminism to fiscal policy (FEMTIE) research project.
