New Blog Alert: Where feminists talk economics

We’re thrilled to see that The Nation is launching a new roundtable blog called The Curve, “where feminists will hash out economic issues and intervene in feminist debates from an economic perspective.” The editors explain that they’ve been frustrated by two phenomena:

One is the way in which women’s voices are so frequently sidelined in economic debates. Our voices are few and far between in the economics blogosphere. It’s striking that almost none of the reviewers of Thomas Piketty’s groundbreaking Capital in the Twenty-First Centurywere women. And as Media Matters recently showed, women are rarely invited to discuss the economy on cable news.

The flipside of this problem is that, even amongst ourselves, feminists don’t talk enough about economics. Too often, discussions about so-called culture problems like abortion access and domestic violence lack the economic context necessary to appreciate their true causes and repercussions. When topics such as the pay gap or workplace discrimination come up, coverage is often superficial and focused on the experiences of a tiny elite. Meanwhile, the economic pressures on women are mounting: as inequality soars, women make up a growing proportion of the long-term unemployed, low-income women lead a growing majority of single-mother households, middle-income women struggle with few social supports, and even the progress being made by high-income women into the executive suites remains glacially slow.

In the first installment, host Kathleen Geier and some other smart folks discuss “lean in,” the class divide within the feminist movement, and how the barriers to gender equality “are embedded in the workings of American capitalism.” Next time, they’ll consider whether the Democratic Party’s ties to corporate America hamper its ability to deliver on feminist goals. Can’t wait!

Related:
The Academic Feminist: Lady Economists in Conversation
What if we all leaned out, instead of leaning in?
Feministing Chat: Ban Bossy?