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Gender Inequality, Social Reproduction and the Universal Basic Income
Author(s) -
Lombardozzi Lorena
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the political quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.373
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1467-923X
pISSN - 0032-3179
DOI - 10.1111/1467-923x.12844
Subject(s) - reproduction , transformative learning , inequality , social reproduction , basic income , sociology , work (physics) , social inequality , order (exchange) , gender relations , gender inequality , gender studies , economic growth , economics , political science , social science , law , social capital , mechanical engineering , mathematical analysis , ecology , pedagogy , mathematics , finance , biology , engineering
Despite extensive attention being paid to the effects of the Universal Basic Income (UBI) on society at large, there has been little analysis on the relationship between gender inequality and UBI. The purpose of this article is first to reflect on the feminist arguments in favour of UBI and then to examine some of these points by also considering other available policies. By looking into the role of women’s work in both productive and reproductive activities, it is argued that UBI should not be disregarded as a social policy. However, its transformative capacity to empower women and to strengthen their role in society should not be overestimated. In order to address this gap, policy makers should address misconceptions around gender norms and acknowledge the multiple forms of women’s work across the social relations of production and reproduction.