Global Feminism

Hard Times Everywhere

Hard Times Everywhere

All governments want to reduce their deficit and increase their wealth, which here is measured by gross domestic product (GDP). There are many tactics employed to try and achieve this goal. In the united states officials have… in the article Analysis: Spain’s victory in Europe could backfire for Rajoy , Spain is trying things like soliciting investors (Toyer), but the effects seem to be less impressive than anticipated. Here, Spain is compared to another Hispanic county, Italy, who is show to be doing considerably better, with smaller margins and more popular elected officials. But the article The Female Factor: Counting the Cost of Machismo, we see a different Italy. In fact we see an entirely different Europe. In the first article things are very cut and dry. There are figures and percentages, there are rules and criteria. But there is little else. One of the first questions you learn to ask as a young feminist is “what about women”. That is the question I pose to the first article. The second article, written by Katrin Bennhold attempts to answer that question.

Firstly she talks about the rarity of female elected officials and how even when there is a women in office the focus is “more about the defense minister’s outfits than her policies”.(Bennhold) This is not at all surprising to some, but it is telling as to the nonchalance governments and economies employ when considering, or in some cases no considering, the importance of women in lowering the deficit and increasing GDP.

Bennhold attributes this unwillingness to give credit where credit is due in regards to the power women may hold in improving the economy to the phenomenon that is ‘machismo’, an idealized hyper masculine male figure that brings home the bacon. This phenomenon in Hispanic cultures gives rise to many issues, in this instance we will be considering how it prohibits, discourages and punishes female participation in the labor market. These ideals penetrate many facets of the economy and laws. In Italy there are strict hiring and firing laws that affectively keep more qualifies workers, more qualifies female workers out of those positions.(Bennhold)

Some will argue that integration women into the labor force is not necessary, that increased productivity is the key to increasing the GDP, but economic scholars, though the see the value in higher productivity estimate the benefit of women in the workforce to being as high as a 13% increase in GDP. Higher GDP and decreased national deficit are not the only perks of integrating the labor force. Another concern regarding women and working is reproduction. There is a common misconception that if women enter the workforce, they are less likely to bear children. This is a concern because of the need to sustain the current and future workforce.  But as the Bennhold article tells us, as learned from a study, when women do not have to choose between either having a career or having children they are more likely to do both.

From this conflict we can see the ways in which economics effect women, in regards to their mobility, their opportunities, their ability to provide for themselves and their families and even stirs up talks what they do with their own bodies. In the Bennhold article Maria Stratigaki, a Greek elected official, states “Gender equality is no longer just a human rights issue, but an economic necessity,” These conversations effect women who are not even active in these institutions. Here we see machismo, government and economics intersecting and being in conversation with each other, but who is missing from the conversation? Again we have to ask, what about women?

1. Bennhold, Katrin. “THE FEMALE FACTOR Counting the Cost of Machismo.” New York Times Europe [Paris] 17 Aug. 2010. Print.
2. Toyer, Julien. “Analysis: Spain’s Victory in Europe Could Backfire for Rajoy.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 16 Mar. 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/16/us-spain-rajoy-idUSBRE82F0Z620120316?feedType=RSS>.