International Association for Feminist Economics

International Association for Feminist Economics 2014 Annual Report The Light at the Tunnel – Fatric Bewong www.iaffe.org IAFFE 2014 Annual Report A vision, a promise … providing a space for research-based activism IAFFE The International Association for Feminist Economics is an open, diverse community of academics, activists, policy theorists, and practitioners from around the world. Our common cause is to further gender-aware and inclusive economic inquiry and policy analysis with the goal of enhancing the well-Being of children, women, and men in local, national, and transnational communities. By opening new areas of economic inquiry, welcoming diverse voices, and encouraging critical exchanges, IAFFE’s many activities and award-winning journal provide needed space for a variety of theoretical perspectives and advance gender- Based research on contemporary economic issues. A Tradition of Gender Research Asset holding and economic participation and well-being are central issues of research in feminist economics. Holding land increases women’s economic situation and can raise their position within society. The impact religious affiliation has on women is also examined, with particular attention being paid to Muslim women. With the generous support of many sponsors, Feminist Economics was able to publish research on a wide range of topics with case studies from around the globe. This year saw the puBlication of numerous special issues titled “Land, Gender, and Food Security”, “Gender, Economics, and Muslim Communities”, and “Engendering Economic Policy in Africa”. - 1 - IAFFE 2014 Annual Report IAFFE Members Diverse Membership In 2014, IAFFE consisted of 438 members from 43 countries. Members came from around the world, including Africa (26 members), Asia (50), Europe (133), North and Central America (189), South America (22), and Australia and New Zealand (18). The 2014 IAFFE membership included 103 new members. - 2 - IAFFE 2014 Annual Report 2014 Total Members: 438 4% 6% 5% Africa 12% Asia Europe Central and North America 43% 30% South America Australia and New Zealand 2014 New Members: 103 4% 6% 7% Africa 10% Asia Europe Central and North America 44% 29% South America Australia and New Zealand - 3 - IAFFE 2014 Annual Report Dear Friends, The 2014 IAFFE Annual Conference, “Women’s Economic Empowerment and the New GloBal Development Agenda,” in Ghana, created a forum for discussion of many pressing feminist concerns among scholars, activists, researchers, and representatives of NGOs, including the post- 2015 agenda. The Great Recession of 2007-9 caused setBacks in many achievements towards gender equality around the gloBe. Despite these challenges, the need to ensure food security, country climate change, and reduce poverty contriButed to the formation of gender-aware economics and social policies in Africa. Following the economic crisis, women's rights movements gained momentum, and there were considerable gains in terms of women’s empowerment in Ghana. The IAFFE conference was an opportunity to deBate topics on gender equality and feminist economics; engendering growth, fiscal policy, and macroeconomic policies through a feminist lens; and migration, microfinance, women’s entrepreneurship, employment, and sustainable development as part of the women’s agency. The IAFFE sessions and co-sessions at the 2015 ASSA conference in Boston brought together feminists working on the following issues: Gender, Monetary, and Fiscal Policies, Women’s Employment, Families and Austerity Programs, Deflation and Gender in a Complex GloBal World, Women’s Employment and Central Bank Policies during the Post-Crisis Period, Economic Empowerment, Ethics and Gender Development, Gender, Microcredit and Microfinance. Excitingly it resulted in more than thirty suBmissions and the organization of three IAFFE sessions and six additional Joint IAFFE sessions – three URPE-IAFFE sessions, one ASE-IAFFE panel, and three IAFFE sessions that included fifteen papers. IAFFE has never been more relevant than today. Recession and the subsequent economic hardship and cuts in spending at research institutions have led to a decline in IAFFE membership in many countries. IAFFE is in a campaign to collect grants to involve more memBers across the gloBe, including scholars, activists, researchers, and representatives from non-governmental organizations. Feminist economic theory remains ever relevant in the face of changing But persistent gender inequalities. The IAFFE conference in Ghana was the first IAFFE conference to Be held in Africa. I would like to thank the University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana, as well as other local institutions for providing us with the space and the resources to make this event happen. I also reserve a special thank you to Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung – Berlin; Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung – Ghana; Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER); University of Ghana, Department of Economics; University of Ghana Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA); University of NeBraska–Lincoln, Department of Economics, Institution of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Agricultural Economics; Rice University; and Dickinson College for their generous support of our goals and activities. With Best wishes for another productive and successful year, Alicia Girón, IAFFE President 2014–15 - 4 - IAFFE 2014 Annual Report Membership Meeting & Book Celebration | 23rd IAFFE Annual Conference | Accra, Ghana | june 27-30, 2014 – Joyce JacoBsen, Ellie Perkins, Alicia Girón, conference participant, conference participant, Günseli Berik, Diana Strassmann, Cruz Caridad Bueno (2014 Rhonda Williams Prize), Abena Oduro, Yana Van Der Meulen Rodgers. Fostering a Culture of Impact From the outset, in its vision and membership, IAFFE has sought to be inclusive and open, a global community of economists and non-economists, of academics, practitioners, and activists who are interested in feminist viewpoints on questions of economic analysis, policy, and practice. Our goals are wide-ranging and include creating collaborations to develop feminist analyses of economic issues; educating economists, policy-makers, and the general puBlic on feminist points of view on economic matters; providing aid in expanding opportunities for women, especially women from underrepresented groups within economics; and encouraging inclusion of feminist perspectives in the economics classroom. Land, Gender, and Food Security The gendered dimensions of large land deals are examined in a Feminist Economics special issue on Land, Gender, and Food Security, guest edited by Cheryl Doss, Gale Summerfield, and Dzodzi Tsikata, and puBlished in January 2014. Most of the authors who contributed to the special issue participated in a showcase panel at the 2014 IAFFE Conference in Accra, Ghana. Hunger and food security have long been central issues in feminist economic analyses. The global food price crisis of 2007–8 foreshadowed the - 5 - IAFFE 2014 Annual Report interconnectedness of food and energy policies and the vulnerability of vast numbers of poor and chronically malnourished people throughout the world to rising food prices. The global boom in farmland and land grabs by richer countries demonstrate the urgency of investigating the multifaceted nature of the food security problem and examining in particular how large land acquisitions affect women, who generally have less control over land than men do. Articles puBlished in the special issue were divided between theoretical approaches and case studies, and ranged from a meta-analysis of transnational land deals that argues for incorporating utilitarian and human-rights perspectives into feminist responses to an assessment of rural Ugandans’ perspectives on land ownership and their implications for large-scale land acquisitions to an analysis of crop choice among women small farmers in Kenya. The special issue was generously supported by the Ford Foundation, Rice University, and the University of Utah. Gender, Economics, and Muslim Communities This special issue, guest edited by Ebru Kongar, Jennifer Olmsted, and Elora Shehabuddin, was published in October 2014. Articles explored new insights into women’s economic well-being in Muslim communities while interrogating the prevailing discourses about women’s participation in these communities. Generously supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Rice University, and the University of Utah, the issue helped close the gaps in our knowledge of the links between gender, economic well-being, and the varying influences of religion, gaps caused by gender-blind analyses and unexplored assumptions and generalizations regarding Muslim women’s experiences. Articles included an analysis of the influence of patriarchal norms, institutions, and household composition on women’s employment in majority-Muslim countries and an inquiry into whether son preference is weakening in Bangladesh. An introduction by the guest editors expanded on the issue’s theme by bringing together feminist analyses of Orientalist tropes, development discourses and policies, and macro- and microeconomic trends. Engendering Economic Policy in Africa This special issue of the journal, guest edited by Caren A. Grown, Abena D. Oduro, and Irene van Staveren, brings together new research aimed at challenging and improving economic policies in Africa. Articles puBlished online in 2014 include an analysis of the problems posed by the practice of using joint-asset ownership as a means to

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