Course Description
Women are important in the global marketplace as leaders, workers, consumers, entrepreneurs, managers, and investors. This course will investigate the global economic impact of women across different racial/ethnic and class/regional communities and the impact of the economy on generations of women.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be required to read more extensively, beyond the requirements of undergraduates. Graduate students will review academic literature and analyze economic trends in order to write a mini-thesis on a specific topic (e.g., employment, children/fertility, marriage, divorce, or cohabitation, etc.) as it relates to women and their global economic well-being. Graduate students will present their thesis findings to the class.
Athena Title
Women in the Global Economy
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students in this course will develop the skills necessary to: 1) understand the scholarly framework with which to assess the impact of women on the global economy and the impact of the global economy on women as a whole; 2) identify the historical and cross-cultural perspectives that will allow them to understand the changing nature of women as economic contributors; 3) advance an intellectual understanding of the debates surrounding the regulation of women’s issues within the global economy, including economic access, reproductive rights, and gender equality. 4) develop a more comprehensive knowledge of the diverse and changing climate surrounding women in the various international economies. Students will be evaluated on in- class presentations, exams and written essays, derived from intensive readings and seminar-style class discussions based on the themes around which the course is constructed.
Topical Outline
1. Male and Female Gender Roles: Learned Behaviors and Their Economic Impact 2. Introduction to the Family: Family Economics, Family Composition 3. Marriage: Contracts and Economic Costs and Benefits 4. Parenthood: Costs and Benefits 5. Labor Force Participation: Statistical Variations Based on Life Cycle Hypothesis 6. Differences in Occupations and Earnings: Gender Discrimination 7. Differences in Occupations and Earnings: Economic Opportunities 8. Differences in Occupations and Earnings: Human Capital Model 9. Differences in Financial Security: Time Value of Money 10. Labor Market Impact: On Gender Roles and Vise-Versa 11. Labor Market Participation: Policies Affecting Paid Work and the Family 12. Economic Impact of Women: International and Domestic
Syllabus