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Women and Economics (1898) is a sociological and economic study by American author and feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Inspired by her work as a social reformer and advocate for women's suffrage, Gilman sought to write a work of nonfiction that explained the need to introduce women into the workforce while alleviating their responsibilities as wives and mothers. Women and Economics, arguably Gilman's most important work, employs the theories of Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, and Thorstein Veblen to not only assess the damage done to women and human society by inequality, but to propose realistic ways of eliminating gender oppression while benefitting humanity at large.
Observing that women in their roles as wives and mothers tend to work harder for longer hours than men while being excluded from the work force, Gilman proposes that the progress of human society depends upon the equality of men and women in all aspects of working and domestic life. She acknowledges the importance of the suffragist movement-in which she was a leading figure-while making the case for the economic equality of men and women in addition to the democratic equality sought by their activism. Ultimately, Gilman advocates for the professionalization of domestic work, suggesting that women should be allowed to enter the workforce while hiring others to care for and educate their children as well as perform the duties necessary for the upkeep of the home. Grounding her work in the dominant sociological, biological, and economic theories of the time, Gilman provided the intellectual arguments necessary for elevating the feminist cause from a popular movement to a true political force. Women and Economics is a powerful work of sociological thought by a leading reformer and feminist of her day.
This edition of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Women and Economics is a classic of American literature and nonfiction reimagined for modern readers.
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About the author
When Charlotte Perkins Stetson Gilman passed away in 1935, she was well-known for both her political and journalistic writing as well as her unusual personal life. As a pioneering journalist and feminist scholar in her day, Gilman was a supporter of women's rights activists like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and her great-aunt Harriet Beecher Stowe. Although Gilman was interested in social justice and political injustice in general, her writing was primarily focused on the uneven treatment of women in the institution of marriage. Gilman argued that restricting women to the domestic sphere denied them the opportunity to express their full potential for creativity and intelligence while depriving society of women with the skills necessary for careers in the private and public sectors. Her arguments were made in such works as Concerning Children (1900), The Home (1904), and Human Work (1904). She argued that the conventional family power structure did not benefit anyone, not the wife who was treated like an unpaid servant, not the husband who was treated like a master, and not the kids who were subject to both. Women and Economics, her most ambitious study, examined the hidden worth of women's labor in the capitalist economy.
Summary
Women and Economics (1898) is a sociological and economic study by American author and feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Inspired by her work as a social reformer and advocate for women’s suffrage, Gilman sought to write a work of nonfiction that explained the need to introduce women into the workforce while alleviating their responsibilities as wives and mothers. Women and Economics, arguably Gilman’s most important work, employs the theories of Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, and Thorstein Veblen to not only assess the damage done to women and human society by inequality, but to propose realistic ways of eliminating gender oppression while benefitting humanity at large.
Observing that women in their roles as wives and mothers tend to work harder for longer hours than men while being excluded from the work force, Gilman proposes that the progress of human society depends upon the equality of men and women in all aspects of working and domestic life. She acknowledges the importance of the suffragist movement—in which she was a leading figure—while making the case for the economic equality of men and women in addition to the democratic equality sought by their activism. Ultimately, Gilman advocates for the professionalization of domestic work, suggesting that women should be allowed to enter the workforce while hiring others to care for and educate their children as well as perform the duties necessary for the upkeep of the home. Grounding her work in the dominant sociological, biological, and economic theories of the time, Gilman provided the intellectual arguments necessary for elevating the feminist cause from a popular movement to a true political force. Women and Economics is a powerful work of sociological thought by a leading reformer and feminist of her day.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Women and Economics is a classic of American literature and nonfiction reimagined for modern readers.
