Purple Pact: It’s Time for a Feminist approach to the Economy
[Brussels, 4 March 2020] The EWL’s publication “Purple Pact: A feminist approach to the economy”, the result of the EWL feminist economics working group, provides analysis and recommendations to rethink the current macro-economic system from a critical feminist perspective.
The feminist approach to the economy embodied in the EWL’s Purple Pact takes as a starting point the full participation of women in all areas of life, and equal representation of women in all their diversity, at all levels of decision-making, including economic decision-making. It aims to build an inclusive economy for the well-being of all. The focus is a universal social care system with an infrastructure that can provide social and care services for all and quality services, which are accessible and affordable. It also stresses the fact that environmental issues have always been, and are increasingly, a matter of human rights and social justice and are thus feminist issues, and an integral part of feminist economic analysis.
The concept of the ‘Purple Pact’ builds on the ‘Purple Economy’, first proposed by Ipek Ilkkaracan from the EWL coordination Turkey, providing a vision of an economic model that is sustainable and equally beneficial to women and men.
The Purple Pact challenges the current macro-economic model founded on unsustainable growth, at the expense of exploiting people, especially women, and the environment, which has finite natural resources. The way in which we collect tax and measure growth and productivity (i.e. through GDP) completely ignores the invaluable contributions of women’s un-paid and invisible work. This work is often performed within entrenched stereotypical roles whereby men are the bread-winners and women are the caretakers. The Purple Pact proposes, inter alia, a Care Deal for Europe, which would respond to many current challenges, primarily care as a collective need and responsibility for both women and men throughout the life cycle.
The Purple Pact is intended to stimulate debate and exchange, an invitation to a broad range of stakeholders including decision-makers at national and European level, to seriously take on board feminist economic principles in future macro-economic policies. It comes at a very timely moment as the EU adopts its five-year Strategy on Equality between women and men.
The EWL’s feminist economics working group will continue to develop and expand on the recommendations in the report. Currently, further work is being developed on gender budgeting.
Read the Purple Pact now!
