Women and Economics (1898) is a sociological and economic study by
American author and feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Inspired by her
work as a social reformer and advocate for women's suffrage, Gilman
sought to write a work of nonfiction that explained the need to
introduce women into the workforce while alleviating their
responsibilities as wives and mothers. Women and Economics, arguably
Gilman's most important work, employs the theories of Karl Marx, Charles
Darwin, and Thorstein Veblen to not only assess the damage done to women
and human society by inequality, but to propose realistic ways of
eliminating gender oppression while benefitting humanity at large.
Observing that women in their roles as wives and mothers tend to work
harder for longer hours than men while being excluded from the work
force, Gilman proposes that the progress of human society depends upon
the equality of men and women in all aspects of working and domestic
life. She acknowledges the importance of the suffragist movement--in
which she was a leading figure--while making the case for the economic
equality of men and women in addition to the democratic equality sought
by their activism. Ultimately, Gilman advocates for the
professionalization of domestic work, suggesting that women should be
allowed to enter the workforce while hiring others to care for and
educate their children as well as perform the duties necessary for the
upkeep of the home. Grounding her work in the dominant sociological,
biological, and economic theories of the time, Gilman provided the
intellectual arguments necessary for elevating the feminist cause from a
popular movement to a true political force. Women and Economics is a
powerful work of sociological thought by a leading reformer and feminist
of her day.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Women and Economics is a
classic of American literature and nonfiction reimagined for modern
readers.
