Class 5: Gender Gaps in the Economy and Economics

Introduzione: La persistenza della disuguaglianza di genere

Despite substantial progress in many countries, gender inequality remains a pervasive issue in both economic practice and theory. It manifests across multiple dimensions - including labor force participation, wage levels, leadership opportunities, and entrepreneurial access - and persists in both developing and developed economies. Mainstream economic theory has historically neglected or inadequately addressed these disparities, often overlooking the structural, social, and institutional mechanisms that sustain them.

This chapter explores the gender gaps that exist within economic systems and within the discipline of economics itself. It focuses on:

• Labor market inequalities (e.g., participation, wages, segregation),
• Gender differences in entrepreneurship,
• The role of unpaid care work,
• Competing theoretical frameworks (feminist vs. neoclassical approaches),
• Global policy efforts such as the UN's Agenda 2030 (Goal 5),
• Quantitative insights from the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report.

Comprendere la disuguaglianza di genere: forme e manifestazioni

Gender inequality in the economy can be observed in several interconnected ways:

Il divario di genere nel lavoro

This refers to the disparity in labor force participation between men and women. Women are generally less likely to be employed, and when they are, they often work fewer hours or in part- time, precarious, or informal jobs. This limits their economic independence and long-term career advancement.

Il divario retributivo di genere

Even when women perform the same or comparable work as men, they tend to receive lower wages. This wage gap is influenced by a range of factors: occupational segregation, discrimination, differences in negotiation opportunities, and time spent on unpaid domestic duties.

Segregazione occupazionale: i "Pink Ghettos" e il Glass Ceiling

• Pink Ghettos: Women are overrepresented in lower-paid, feminized professions such as teaching, caregiving, and administrative support - often referred to as "pink-collar" jobs.
• Glass Ceiling: A metaphor for the invisible barriers that prevent women from rising to top positions in business, academia, or government, even when they have the qualifications and experience.

Il divario di genere nell'imprenditoria

Entrepreneurship is another area marked by sharp gender disparities:

• Women tend to operate portfolio entrepreneurship, meaning they start and manage businesses alongside other roles (e.g., care work or secondary jobs), often as a way of coping with economic insecurity.
• Men are more often serial entrepreneurs, founding multiple businesses with higher growth potential.
• In developing countries, women entrepreneurs face additional structural barriers, including limited access to credit, education, networks, and property rights.
• In developed countries, while institutional barriers may be lower, cultural norms, bias in venture capital, and the burden of unpaid work continue to restrict female entrepreneurial potential.

Lavoro di cura vs. lavoro retribuito

A core structural feature of gender inequality lies in the undervaluation of unpaid care work - childrearing, elder care, and household maintenance - which disproportionately falls on women. This division:

• Reduces women's time for paid employment,
• Contributes to the wage gap and labor gap,
• Is largely invisible in GDP calculations and mainstream economic models.

Due approcci teorici: Economia femminista vs. Economia neoclassica attenta al genere

Gender inequality can be studied from different theoretical perspectives. Two main approaches dominate this field:

Economia di genere neoclassica

This approach applies the logic and tools of standard neoclassical theory to gender issues. It tends to:

• Emphasize individual choices, utility maximization, and market efficiency,
• Attribute gender disparities to differences in productivity, human capital, preferences, or biological traits,
• Focus on efficiency as the core evaluative standard.

Although this framework introduces gender as a relevant variable, it typically does not question the underlying assumptions of economic theory or its historical male-centered bias.

Economia femminista

A heterodox approach, feminist economics challenges the core assumptions of mainstream theory. It argues that:

• Economic models often ignore the role of power, social norms, and institutions in shaping gendered outcomes,
• The unpaid care economy must be recognized and integrated into analyses,
• Fairness and justice - not only efficiency - should guide economic evaluation,
• Gender inequality stems from patriarchal structures, not just individual choice or biology.

In sum, while both perspectives aim to understand and potentially reduce gender inequality, they differ in their methodology, normative benchmarks, and explanatory assumptions.Feature

Neoclassical Gender Economics Feminist Economics Methodological base Orthodox (individualistic, rationalist) Heterodox (institutional, historical) Origin of inequality Human capital, preferences, biology Patriarchy, norms, institutions Evaluative criterion Efficiency Justice and fairness View on care work Often ignored or undervalued Central to understanding economic systems

L'Agenda politica globale: Agenda 2030 delle Nazioni Unite e Obiettivo 5

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, a universal framework of 17 goals aimed at eradicating poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring prosperity for all by the year 2030. Each goal is accompanied by specific targets and measurable indicators.

Among these, Goal 5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls directly addresses the structural and social roots of gender inequality across multiple domains - legal, economic, political, and cultural.

Obiettivi chiave dell'Obiettivo 5

1. End All Forms of Discrimination Eliminate discriminatory laws, policies, and practices against women and girls in both public and private life.
2. Eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls This includes addressing domestic abuse, sexual violence, trafficking, and exploitation, ensuring safety and protection in all environments.
3. Abolish Harmful Practices Target practices like child marriage, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation, which violate human rights and impede social and economic participation.
4. Recognize and Value Unpaid Care and Domestic Work Encourage investment in public services, infrastructure, and social protection to reduce the burden of unpaid work - a critical barrier to women's full economic participation. Promote shared responsibility between genders at household and national levels.
5. Ensure Full Participation in Decision-Making Guarantee women's equal access to leadership roles in political, economic, and public spheres.
6. Ensure Reproductive Rights and Health Facilitate universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, and protect women's rights as affirmed in international agreements such as the Beijing Platform for Action and the International Conference on Population and Development.
7. Secure Women's Economic Resources Reform laws and policies to grant women equal rights to own land, inherit property, and access credit, ensuring financial inclusion and autonomy.
8. Leverage Technology for Empowerment Promote women's access to digital tools, internet connectivity, and ICT (Information and Communications Technology) to support education, entrepreneurship, and civic participation.
9. Strengthen Policies and LegislationAdopt and enforce effective laws that promote gender equality at all levels - from local to national - ensuring that gains are not merely symbolic but legally binding and enforceable.

Misurare il progresso: il Global Gender Gap Report del World Economic Forum

While policy frameworks like Agenda 2030 set out normative goals, empirical tools are needed to monitor progress. The Global Gender Gap Report, published annually by the World Economic Forum (WEF) since 2006, serves this purpose.

Ambito e metodologia

• The report covers 156 countries and evaluates progress in closing gender- based gaps across four key dimensions:

1. Economic Participation and Opportunity Employment rates, wage equality, advancement to leadership roles.
2. Educational Attainment Enrollment and literacy rates across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.
3. Health and Survival Life expectancy and sex ratio at birth.
4. Political Empowerment Representation in parliaments, ministerial roles, and heads of state.

Punteggio e interpretazione

• Scores range from 0 to 100, where 100 indicates full gender parity.
• The score reflects the percentage of the gender gap that has been closed, not absolute levels of development.
• For example, a country with low educational outcomes for both sexes may still score high if gender parity is achieved in those low outcomes.

Equità ed efficienza

• The WEF report frames gender equality not just as a moral imperative, but as a driver of economic efficiency.
• Closing gender gaps leads to higher labor productivity, innovation, and better decision-making - suggesting that justice and efficiency are mutually reinforcing, not opposed.

Conclusione: Colmare il divario di genere nella teoria e nella pratica

The persistence of gender inequality in both economic systems and the discipline of economics reflects deeper structural issues. Tackling these challenges requires a dual strategy:

• Theoretical reform - broadening economic models to include unpaid care work, power dynamics, and social institutions.
• Policy innovation - from global frameworks like Agenda 2030 to national legislation and targeted public services.

The juxtaposition of feminist economics and neoclassical gender-aware economics reveals a fundamental tension between visions of fairness and market efficiency. Yet, empirical tools like the WEF Gender Gap Report show that justice and growth are not contradictory - they are interdependent.

To move toward a more inclusive and sustainable economic future, it is essential to:

• Rethink foundational assumptions of economic theory,
• Value all forms of labor - paid and unpaid,
• Promote equal access to resources and power,