“The crisis weighs on women”

Heavy criticism against austerity measures as a criticism to fight the crisis came from a group of academics that met at the university Gotheborg, in Sweden, over the past days to inquire on the impact of the crisis on women. There are various reasons for the criticism: austerity policies don’t give the expected results, shifting the burden of the recession on citizens. Not all areas are affected by such measures although they heavily impact social services, education, health, with dire consequences on European female population. Participants in Gotheborg spoke of an “austericide” and that women, hit by the crisis, were affected also in their role as fundamental players of the social fabric. Accompanying the reflection of English sociologist Diane Elson, the Swedish researchers identified the origin of the crisis in the “domination of finance” “on production and reproduction” and the possibility of a solution in the reorganization of the relationship between these three realms, so that finance and production may serve the needs of reproduction, the area in which it is offered and the essential care of human wellbeing. Sarah Numico interviewed for SIR Europe Edmé Dominguez, associated professor at the University of Gothenburg and researcher at the School of Global Studies at the same university, organizer of the seminar as chairman of Gadip, the Swedish network of academics and activists interested in development and gender issues.How serious are the effects of the crisis on women? “Very serious, and in different ways: not only in terms of unemployment and regarding the fact that men have more chances to re-enter the job market compared to women. The situation is burdensome also because the economic downturn is a paradox: on the one hand increasing numbers of families depend on women, whose wages are not infrequently the only one in the family. On the other hand, as most women are employed in the public sector, which in all countries hit by the crisis is penalized by budget cuts, unemployment is higher among women. Moreover, such cuts make women’s lives harder, since they affect a range of social services such as day care centres, school canteens and care of the elderly, coupled by the fact that the target of equality has been completely forgotten”. Is there a “female” understanding on the cause of the crisis? And are their “female” suggestions to overcome it? “It would be wrong to speak of a ‘female’ analysis, although there are feminist interpretations of the crisis. In these areas there are feminist theories of the patriarchal structures impressed in capitalism, which highlight the fact that this element is always linked to the crisis. There certainly are various feminist reflections on the need to put an end to the capitalist model and find alternative development models, that don’t repose only on infinite consumption model but on more sustainable growth, centered on the local dimension”.Are there examples of “good practices” implemented by women that show that another model of development is possible? “Various experiences were shared in our past meetings, most of which were proposals at local level such as consumption cooperatives, ecologic cooperatives for tourism… All the cases we know of are experiences that highlight ways out from a capitalistic model based on finance and on the free change and find ways of development under the banner of solidarity and environmental protection”. In your opinion, what would the world be like if there were more women in roles of power and supervision? “Women are human beings: they can be dishonest and corrupt. But many believe that more women in positions of power, in particular more ‘feminists’ in role of guidance and control, would change politics, gearing it towards the promotion of social care activities, less focused on the logics of profit and more on the logics of human rights and fundamental needs”.