Research Project: Beyond Austerity, Towards Employment: a Gender Aware Framework

FEPS, together with the Economic Council of the Labour Movement (ECLM), the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), TASC, and The Open University have set up a research project with the aim to investigate the changing position, role and pay of both men and women in Europe. The project will assess whether or not recent austerity policies have had particularly gendered effects and where the roots of such effects lie. Rather than investigating employment and wages alone, the project will also investigate the impacts of austerity (and recovery) on working conditions, job security and work-life balance.

The project will also assess how to create the conditions for a gender equitable and expansionary macroeconomic framework in Europe and will give a full picture of various effects of policy change, such as austerity cuts as well as modelling alternative policies for a more inclusive recovery plan for both men and women.

The main research questions are:

1. What are the effects of austerity policies on men and women in Europe?
2. What are the alternative solotuions which promote employment and equality as the primary focus of recovery?

To address these questions the project brings together research on macroeconomic policies with more sector-specific micro-level research. A series of complementary tools and models will be used to assess different scenarios for recovery and reconstruction of the European economy.

The project will result in a series of policy oriented papers.

Principal Investigators:

ECLM: Lars Andersen, Erik Bjørsted, Signe Hansen

FEPS: Dr. Giovanni Cozzi, Judit Tanczos and Maari Põim

SOAS: Dr. Hannah Bargawi

TASC: Dr. Nat O’Connor

The Open University: Dr. Jérôme De Henau and Prof. Susan Himmelweith

Seminars and Roundtable Discussions

Seminar between academics, policy makers and civil society on Beyond Austerity, Towards Employment: a Gender Aware Framework, FEPS, 11th and 12th February 2014 (full programme and seminar briefs).

Research and policy related output

Hansen, S. and Andersen, L. (2014) A gendered investment plan. FEPS Economic Policy Brief No.2, February

Selected Background material

Andersen, L. and Bjørsted, (2013) The Way Out of the Crisis: An Alternative to Austerity, Policy Brief No.3

Barry, U. (2008) Where are We Now? New Feminist perspectives on women in contemporary Ireland, TASC Books, New Island: Dublin

Bennett, Fran, Jérôme De Henau and Sirin Sung (2010), “Within household inequalities across classes? Money management and income”, in Scott, J., R. Crompton and C. Lyonette (eds), Gender Inequalities in the 21st Century:  New barriers and continuing constraints, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

De Henau, J. and Himmelweit, S. (in press) Comparing welfare regimes by their effects on intra-household inequalities’ in Ferri, M. and Monsonis-Paya, I. (eds) Sustainability and transformation in European Social Policy, Peter Lang.gue

De Henau, J. Himmelweit, S. and Santos, C. (2010) “Gender Equality and Taxation: A UK case Study” in C. Grown and I. Valodia (eds) Taxation and Gender Equity: A Comparative Analysis of Direct and Indirect Taxes in Developing and Developed Countries, Abingdon: Routledge International Studies in Money and Banking: 261–298.

McKinley, T., Cozzi G., Mitchell, J., and Bargawi, A. (2013) How can the EU Federal Government spearhead an employment-led recovery?, Policy Brief No.1

Murphy, M. (2012) Gender, Governance and the Irish Crisis. TASC Thinkpieces, May 2012

Tánczos, J. (2013) s representation. A transatlantic Gender Dialogue, FEPS Books