So what has happened since we published our last issue in December 2020 on the power of the patriarchy? For a start, we are out of the pandemic, these issues remain in the headlines and Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian journalist and activist, just got awarded the Nobel Peace Prize as the incredibly brave girls and women continue to fight misogyny in Iran.
Rereading what I wrote then, in economics much hasn’t changed:
- lack of women and people of colour doing economics with female academics facing sexual abuse;
- lack of representation of women and people of colour in economic analysis and data, with homo economicus genderless and colourless;
- lack of examination of institutions in economics – the formal and informal rules of the game, that so often disadvantage women and people of colour.
Even attempts to address male academic sexual misconduct seem to have run into the ground since the professions’ ‘#metoo moment’ in 2018.
And more generally we seem to be in a period of backlash with right-wing politicians using culture wars to cover up their lack of ideas
And more generally we seem to be in a period of backlash with right-wing politicians using culture wars to cover up their lack of ideas and misogynistic social media influencers gaining huge followers.
So I will get out of the way and let this issue’s great contributors speak for themselves.
Feminist economic historian, Jocelyn Olcott, gives a crucial historical perspective, while Patricia Gestoso examines the responsibility of the tech industry for the misogyny of artificial intelligence and Mehak Majeed tells of the race against expectations that female Indian academics must run.
Frances Coppola examines the limits on hate speech, Katy Wiese puts a feminist lens over green new deals and Annee Blott reviews Doon Mackichan’s memoir on challenging sexism in show business.
Maria Gabriela Palacio seeks to understand the growth of violence in Ecuador, Lebohang Liepollo Pheko looks at promotion of a wellbeing economy from a majority world perspective and Amy Schiller explains how philanthropy should treat people as humans, not statistics.
With a Labour government possible in the UK, Stewart Lansley examines the party’s approach to poverty reduction and Justin Taberham considers its options to address the debt and sewage crisis in the water sector.
More broadly, David Stainforth talks about how climate change modelling could be improved, Joshua Brown looks at the potential for collaboration between China and the US on climate change and Guy Dauncey reviews the Paradox of Debt by Richard Vague.
Last but not least Verity provides some light relief with recollections of saving her heroine, Thatcher, from ignominy.
