Womens work and its conceptualization in Post-Keynesian Institutionalism

Work encompasses paid and unpaid activities. According to research by the United Nations, women are responsible for 53 percent of total work in the world, and most of their work is done without remuneration: 67 percent of women's work is unpaid, in contrast to only 25 percent in the case of work done by men. Women also tend to earn less than men. This gender wage gap has social as well as economic significance; paying women less sends a message that society regards women as having less economic and social worth. This chapter links Feminist and Post-Keynesian Institutionalist economics to analyze the connection between women's unpaid work and the remuneration of women's paid labor. Such an integrated analysis of work and gender relations is possible because a common emphasis of Feminist, Post Keynesian, and Institutional economics involves examining culture and socioeconomic institutions to understand economic activity and address economic problems.