Deficit

In 2020, Emma Holten read an article stating that women were a net 'deficit' to society. Women apparently took more than they gave: they took more parental leave, frequently worked part-time, and typically worked lower paying jobs in the public sector. They also 'drained' the public purse by doing expensive things like give birth. Denmark would be richer if women's lives looked more men's, the experts concluded. It's a similar story across the globe. How did we get here? How are the contributions of half the population seen as a loss? In 'Deficit', Emma Holten traces how economic thinkers - from the Enlightenment onwards - created a value framework that left out 'women's work' and acts of care.