"To regard women as equals is cruelty...@ Leo Tolstoy

AI have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is...I only know that people call me a feminist when I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat..@ Rebecca West

1. Course Description:

This course examines the role of gender in economics. We analyze the role of women in the labor market, both now and in the past. It involves a comparison of women and men with respect to labor supply for both market and non-market work, wage rates, unemployment levels and the choice of jobs. We examine some of the public policy issues such as affirmative action, tax policies and comparable worth, that are aimed at remedying gender differences in work opportunities and pay. We also study how access to education, employment and equal pay, life expectancy, maternal mortality, property ownership, occupational segregation, discrimination, poverty and other welfare issues influence women, and how this in turn reflects the extent to which a country is developed. Finally, while primarily focusing on women in the U.S., we try to understand the problems faced by women from different ethnic groups and/or nationalities, by comparing the economic status of women in the U.S. and in other parts of the world. This will be a class where you will teach each other and present your thoughts and arguments in class, both verbally and in writing. Meaningful discussions as well as opinions should be part of the learning process - so be vocal and express yourself!

2. Required Textbook:

Blau and Ferber, The Economics of Women, Men, and Work, Third Edition [Prentice Hall, 1998]

*You must keep in touch with Women issues and related Economic trends in the News. Reading of the New York Times, The Economist, Newsweek, US News and the Wall Street Journal should help.You will also be assigned readings during the term, which will be part of your graded assignment!

3. Course Requirements:

Paper 1: Social, Political, Historical, Current or Economic Issue (Individual project)

This paper (8-10 pages) should deal with any particular issue that women and/or men face today, and one that you would like to explore in details! This paper should draw upon the various theories and issues presented in class and you should make an attempt to present an analytical argument! (Some topics are listed at the end)

Paper 2: Country Report (Group work)

You will research and report about the country of your choice (5-8 pages) including figures, charts and diagrams - geography, history, social, political and economic aspects as well as the current status of women in the country (Refer to Ch 11 - The economic status of the world=s women and Compare the women in this country to that of the US)

Paper 3: Focusing on a particular aspect of Women in the country of your choice (Group Work)

This paper should be an in-depth analysis of a particular issue within the country that you are studying which relates to gender differences or the role of women in that country (Eg: religion in Israel and its influences, prostitution in southeast Asia, aboriginal women in Australia, child and woman labor in Africa, women of Islam, female infanticide in china, corporate women in the US, maquiladoras in Mexico, dowry and bride burning in India, African American women in the US, gypsies of eastern Europe, fall of communism and impact on women, Domestic violence in the US, etc.) The research paper should (10-15 page) include the title page and any graphical, statistical or bibliographical summaries that you may append. The title page must include an abstract highlighting the important features of the paper. The paper should be split into subsections beginning with an introduction which presents the topic and includes a survey of the current status of women in the country of your choice. The major part of the paper should be a descriptive organization of the specific topic separating the analytical, methodological and any empirical parts. Remember to state the purpose or hypotheses, identify the important issues and problems and clearly draw upon the underlying argument surrounding your topic. Finally, the conclusion should summarize your analysis as well as include your evaluation of the status of women in the country of your choice.

All papers must be typed or word processed, double spaced with reasonable margins. Careful footnoting of all quotations and paraphrasing is essential. Your paper should be good and ready enough for a public presentation or journal publication! The purpose is to help you think critically, research and analyze a topic in details! You will be graded on the extent of your involvement, enthusiasm, level of participation and depth in the development of your research paper! I will be reading, correcting and helping you finalize your research paper - you will hand me your draft and then make the necessary changes (if any) for your final paper which will be handed to your colleagues before you present, so that they may have sufficient time (2 days at least) to read it and come to class with questions! Give me a copy and keep the disk/ hardcopy with you at all times.

Homework Assignments and In Class projects (Individual)

These will be written assignments to be turned in either in class or outside the class. They will pertain to questions from the textbook, article(s), films or reports that I will assign to you.

Class Participation & Discussion

All 3 papers will be presented by you (individually or as a group) in class, so that your peers may not only learn from you but also be able to critique what you have written or expressed. A discussion or dialogue is what I am looking for as each paper is presented! Make your presentation as interesting as possible - power point, pictures, narratives, charts, figures and overheads should be included in your presentation, if possible. Try and make your presentation interesting and lively. After a brief description and summary of your paper, concentrate on the questions asked in class by your peers!

All students (except the presenter) must have at least 2-3 written questions to ask in class (you will give me a copy of your questions for my personal grading). It may relate to passages, concepts or notations that you do not understand, or pertain to some important issue that you want discussed. It could be a question raising some concern you may have regarding the topic and/or may even provide useful extensions or applications to the paper. Also throughout the term, you must have some comments or thought provoking questions in class - be provocative and see if you can initiate a discussion in class!

4. Grading: Your final course grade will be based on the following weighting scheme:

Paper I 20%

Paper 2 10%

Paper 3 25%

Homework Reports/Projects 30%

Class Participation 15% (Attendance+ Discussion)

The grading scale is: 94-100% A 74-76% C

90-93% A- 70-73% C-

87-89% B+ 67-69% D+

84-86% B 64-66% D

80-83% B- 60-63% D-

77-79% C+ < 60%

*If at anytime during the semester, you are unsure about the grading criteria or would like to understand how you are being graded and why, please contact me and we can discuss it!

5. Attendance & Academic Conduct:

You are expected to attend all classes. No extensions on the assignments will be allowed or accepted. If you are unable to fulfil some of the course requirements on time, please make sure that you have received prior permission. Remember that in order to do well you need to participate and complete all assignments - just by fulfilling either one or two of the requirements ...will not get you the desired grade, even if you think that what you have left out or not turned in...is worth only a small percentage of the total grade! You can always contact me via E-mail, phone or leave a message outside my office. Excused absences and unforeseen emergencies will be given consideration. However, unexcused absences will result in a grade penalty at the end of the semester. Students are expected to follow the codes of academic honesty set forth in the Student handbook. Do drop by my office any time to talk about anything, and finally if you are intimidated in class or feel that you cannot contribute as much because of some of your >aggressive peers=, then please feel free to discuss it with me in my office and I will try and make the classroom a more comfortable environment for you.......!

6. Some Topics for Paper 1 and/or Paper 3 (Look for more recent references at the back of chapters in your text)

General Issues

"The War Against Women"US News and World Report (Mar 28,1994)

Hewlett A Lesser Life (Ch 2)

Hochschild The Second Shift (Preface, Ch 1, 7)

Baranskaia A Week Like Any Other

Labor-force Participation

Goldin Understanding the Gender Gap (Ch 2)

Occupational Segregation

Goldin Understanding the Gender Gap (Ch 3)

England & Farkas Households, Employment and Gender (Ch 7)

Matthaei An Economic History of Women in America (Ch 9, 12)

"Male-Female Pay Differentials in Professional Employment" American Economic Review (September 1972)

Reskin & Roos Job Queues, Gender Queues

Race/Ethnic Origins and International Differences

Amott & Matthaei Race Gender and Work (Ch 3-8)

Foner New Immigrants in New York

Kahne & Giele Women's Work and Women's Lives (Ch 3-11)

Blumberg Gender, Family & Economy (pp 97-127)

Household Production/Labor Supply

"Harvard Business School's First Female Graduates: Their Lives and Careers" Forbes (July 4, 1994)

Voydanoff Work and Family (pp 89-103)

Comparable worth doctrine

"Effects of Comparable Worth Policy: evidence from Washington State" American Economic Review (May 1989)

Hill & Killingsworth (ed) Comparable Worth: Analyses and Evidence (Ch 2-3)

Killingsworth The Economics of Comparable Worth (Ch 2, 3,7)

Women and Unions

Koziara,Moskow & Tanner Working Women: Past Present Future (Ch 6-7)

Freeman & Leonard Gender in the Working Place (pp 189-216)

Seifer Nobody speaks for me! (pp 220-294)

Gender and Management

"Executive Compensation: Female Executives and Networking" American Economic Review (May 1985 pp 266-270)

"Women in Management" Economist (March 28, 1992)

"Management Women and the New Facts of Life" Harvard Business Review (Jan/Feb 1989 pp 65-76)

Child care/Single Parent/Divorce and other Issues

Kahne & Giele Women's Work and Women's Lives (Ch 12)

Faludi Backlash (pp 19-27)

Voydanoff Work and Family (pp 298-309)

England & Farkas Households, Employment and Gender (Ch 3-4)

"When Work doesn't work" Brookings Review (Spring 1992 pp 26-29)

Kamerman, Kahn & Kingston Maternity Policies and Working Women (Ch 1-2)

Kahn & Kamerman Child Care: Facing the Hard choices (Ch 1)

Weiner From Working Girl to Working Mother (Ch 6)

7. Topics and Course Outline:

Introduction Read Ch 1 ( Appendix is Impt)

Historical Perspective Ch 2

Labor-force Participation Ch 4 (omit pp 86-102)

Occupational Segregation Ch 5 & 6

Discrimination & Policies Ch 7

Recent developments Ch 8

Household Production/Labor Supply (Tax issues) Ch 3

Work, Family & Welfare issues Ch 9

Public policies Ch 10

Role of women across the world Read Ch 11

8. Important Dates:

I will give you a presentation schedule for the entire class, as the term progresses and we have decided clearly what the topics are and who is presenting what!

January 5th Classes start

January 14th Last Day to drop the class

January 18th Holiday (Martin Luther)

January 25th Last day of classes

Feb 5th Topic 1: Introduction, some statistics & Group assignments

Feb 10th Topic 2: Economic Issues/Data pertaining to the US

Feb 12th Library Resources

Feb 17th Topic 3: Europe

Feb 19th Topic 4: Latin America

Feb 24th Topic 5: South Asia

Feb 26th Topic 6: China & East Asia

Paper I: 30 min presentation each with 10 min Q/A

Mar 3rd Group A & B

Mar 5th Group C & D

Mar 10th Jack & Christine Hjelt (Visiting Fellows) Topic: Women & Development

Mar 12th Group G & H

Mar 17th Group I & J

Mar 19th Group K & L

*I will submit Midterm Grades based on Paper I!

Mar 21st-Mar 29th Spring Break

Mar 31st Group E & F

April 2nd No Class - Available between 1-5pm to discuss proposal!

April 3rd Submit Paper II: Proposal

April 7th Topic 7: Africa

April 9th Topic 8: Russia & Former Communist Bloc

April 14th Topic 9: Focus on general Cultural, Political, Social issues etc.!

April 16th Topic 10: Contd

April 21st Meet with me in groups anytime between 1-5 to discuss Draft/Paper

Paper IV: 35 min presentation each with 15 min Q/A

April 23rd Group A & B

April 28th Group C & D

April 30th Group E & F

May 5th Group G & H

May 7th Group I & J

May 12th Group K & L

* I will submit the cumulative grade for the entire semester as your Final Exam grade!

Submit Draft (Paper III) to me Distribute Final Paper to Class & me

Group A & B April 10th April 20th

Group C & D April 10th April 24th

Group E & F April 17th April 27th

Group G & H April 17th May 1st

Group I & J April 24th May 4th

Group K & L April 24th May 8th

Do not ramble on aimlessly - the paper must be your original independent work! A good style manual is A Manual for Writers.... by Kate Turabian. Avoid excessive jargon in your paper and focus on the topic. Reference all your sources, including the source of any data used and any models that you draw from other peoples' work, or even from a different discipline!

Use graphs and statistical tables and data to illustrate your idea, wherever possible and whenever it is relevant. You may find some interesting statistics in the Monthly Labor Review, Survey of Current Business, Economic Report of the President, Economic Indicators, World Development Report and/or the Human Development report.

Group A

Kristan Gundel (Senior, Psychology, No Econ) Czech Republic

Joy Aitcheson (Junior, Philosophy, No Econ)

Group B

Genevieve Bisby (Junior, Art, E201) Israel

Laura Elfreth (Senior, Communications, No Econ)

Group C

Erin Sullivan (Junior, Education, No Econ) Romania

Chrissy Frysiek (Junior, Bus Admn, E201,202)

Group D

Christy Dockery (Senior, Sports Medicine, E201) Costa Rica

Leya Grassotti (Senior, Sports Medicine, E201)

Group E

Amber Coley (Junior, Education, No Econ) Kenya/South Africa

Lauren Tambrino (Senior, Education, No Econ)

Group F

Kelly Klein (Junior, Education, No Econ) Phillipines

Veronica Butcher (Junior, Public Admin, E201)

Group G

Beverley Smith (Senior, Political Sci/International, No Econ) Saudi Arabia

LeAnn Alfred (Sophomore, Communication, No Econ)

Group H

Kim Geary (Junior, Chemistry, No Econ) Zaire/Ethiopia/Somalia

Ebony Chapman (Junior, Sports Management, E201)

Group I

Laura Post (Junior, Bus Admin, E201,202,301 Brazil/Ireland

Heather McAuliffe (Senior, Bus Admn, E201,202,301)

Group J

Beth Johnson (Senior, Communications, No Econ) Algeria

Carol Creighton (Senior, Relgion/women, No Econ)

Group K

Lauren Evoy (Senior, English, No Econ) Equador

Anna D=Agosto (Senior, Spanish/Anthro, E101)

Group L

Alicia Cooke (Senior, Communications/Publishing, No Econ) Australia

Nick Flynn (Senior, Communications, Some Econ)

Group A

Kristan Gundel (Senior, Psychology) Czech Republic

Joy Aitcheson (Junior, Philosophy)

Group B

Genevieve Bisby (Junior, Art) Israel

Laura Elfreth (Senior, Communications)

Group C

Erin Sullivan (Junior, Education) Romania

Chrissy Frysiek (Junior, Bus Admn)

Group D

Christy Dockery (Senior, Sports Medicine) Costa Rica

Leya Grassotti (Senior, Sports Medicine)

Group E

Amber Coley (Junior, Education) Kenya

Lauren Tambrino (Senior, Education)

Group F

Kelly Klein (Junior, Education) Phillipines

Veronica Butcher (Junior, Public Admin)

Group G

Beverley Smith (Senior, Political Sci/International) Saudi Arabia

LeAnn Alfred (Sophomore, Communication)

Group H

Kim Geary (Junior, Chemistry) Zaire

Ebony Chapman (Junior, Sports Management)

Group I

Laura Post (Junior, Bus Admin) Brazil/Ireland

Heather McAuliffe (Senior, Bus Admn)

Group J

Beth Johnson (Senior, Communications) Algeria

Carol Creighton (Senior, Relgion/women)

Group K

Lauren Evoy (Senior, English) Equador

Anna D=Agosto (Senior, Spanish/Anthro)

Group L

Alicia Cooke (Senior, Communications/Publishing) Australia

Nick Flynn (Senior, Communications)

II. Recommended Reading and Reference Material:

Blau, Ferber,Winkler, The Economics of Women, Men and Work [Prentice Hall]

Nussbaum, Women Culture and Development [Oxford]

Moghadam, Modernizing Women [Oxford]

Moghadam, Patriarchy and Development [Oxford]

Pala, Black Women Speak out on Identity, Race and Development [Unifem]

Fawzi El-solh & Mabro, Muslim Women=s Choices [Berg]

Bhasin, Menon & Khan, Against all Odds

The American Woman [Norton]

Faludi, Backlash

Mackinnon, Only Words

Wolf, The Beauty Myth

"The War Against Women"US News and World Report (Mar 28,1994)

Hewlett, A Lesser Life (Ch 2)

Hochschild, The Second Shift (Preface, Ch 1, 7)

Baranskaia, A Week Like Any Other

Matthaei, An Economic History of Women in America (Ch 9, 12)

"Male-Female Pay Differentials in Professional Employment" American Economic Review (September 1972)

Amott & Matthaei, Race Gender and Work

Foner, New Immigrants in New York

Kahne & Giele, Women's Work and Women's Lives

Blumberg, Gender, Family & Economy

"Harvard Business School's First Female Graduates:Their Lives and Careers" Forbes (July 4, 1994)

Voydanoff, Work and Family

Kamerman, Kahn & Kingston, Maternity Policies and Working Women

Wiener, From Working Girl to Working Mother

Freeman & Leonard, Gender in the Working Place

Seifer, Nobody speaks for me!

"Executive Compensation: Female Executives and Networking", American Economic Review

"Women in Management", Economist (March 28, 1992)

"Management Women and the New Facts of Life", Harvard Business Review (Jan/Feb 1989)

Name Presentation Presentation Submission Submission

of Article of Paper Draft Final Paper

Toca 9/07 11/02 (Th) 10/19 10/30

Siek 9/12 11/07 (T) 10/24 11/03

Saunders 9/14 11/09 (Th) 10/26 11/06

Nagai 9/19 11/14 (T) 10/31 11/10

Morris 9/26 11/16 (Th) 11/02 11/13

Wrede 10/03 11/28 (T) 11/07* 11/17*

Durrant 10/05 11/30 (Th) 11/09* 11/27

Cook 10/17 12/05 (T) 11/14* 12/01

Adachi 10/24 12/07 (Th) 11/16* 12/04

first half of the semester some of the basic issues will be briefly presented and discussed. During this period, you will each present a short paper which will discuss the facts and figures pertaining to the country of your choice, focusing on the current status of women in that country. In the second half of the semester, you will present a detailed research paper focusing on a particular topic of your choice in connection with women of that country. For example, if your major is Education, you could study the role of Education and Women in the country of your choice, etc. and you should try to be as specific as possible! You will be reading and evaluating each others paper too - therefore as the semester progresses you will learn not only about the country you are studying, but about different women across different countries presented to you by your peers. The purpose of this seminar is to encourage students to work independently on a project and at the same time be able to evaluate the work of their colleagues.