Brave Endeavours: Towards a Feminist Economics Research Agenda and Training Curriculum for the Global South

In November 2024, the IDEAs Feminist Economics team convened a pivotal meeting in Ghana, bringing together a diverse group of feminist organizations from the Global South to engage in a collaborative dialogue on the development of a curriculum for feminist economics training. This meeting was organized to bridge the gap between the growing recognition of the need for an alternative economic framework rooted in feminist principles and the insufficient resources and materials from feminist scholars and activists in the Global South. By fostering critical thinking and ensuring collaboration, the gathering aimed to create a curriculum that reflects the unique perspectives, experiences, and challenges faced by communities in the Global South, ultimately contributing to a more inclusive and transformative feminist economics.

The meeting kicked off with a shared sense of urgency and purpose: how can IDEAS build a feminist economics training program that’s both impactful and sustainable? Everyone in the room understood the challenge—how do we keep participants engaged over the long term, especially when training logistics are tough and attention spans tend to wane? The solution proposed was clear: short-term, focused training that packs a punch without being overwhelming. This format would make it easier to engage participants while still delivering the key concepts of feminist economics.

There was also a recognition that the participants for this kind of training wouldn’t all come from the same background. Some would have a deep understanding of economics, while others might be new to the field. The proposal? Split the groups, tailor the content, and make it accessible to a broader audience.

In addition, the group saw an opportunity to leverage existing academic partnerships, specifically with the University of Ghana (UofG), to use their platform for training delivery. This connection could help reach a broader audience and bring together scholars, activists, and practitioners in a cohesive space for learning

Why are we choosing a collaborative approach? , The answer was simple: to create a feminist economics curriculum that’s not just academically sound, but widely adopted and regionally relevant. By focusing on institutions that already have a strong feminist or gender-focused curriculum, like women’s studies departments, IDEAs could tap into existing networks of scholars and students who are already primed for feminist perspectives on economics. But the plan didn’t stop there. The real ambition was to eventually collaborate with economics departments too places where feminist economics might not yet have a stronghold but could have a transformative impact.

The rationale for targeting both women’s studies and economics departments was clear. Women’s studies departments have a ready-made interest in gender and power dynamics, while economics departments, often the gatekeepers of mainstream economic thought, are the perfect spaces for challenging and transforming outdated theories. Additionally, key academic partnerships were also seen as opportunities to create cross-disciplinary collaboration and make feminist economics more mainstream across different fields of study, from economics to sociology and political science.

Framing of the Discussion

As the conversation unfolded, it became clear that this initiative wasn’t just about teaching feminist economics it was about challenging the very foundations of economics as we know it. The big question was: What’s wrong with traditional economics, and how can feminist economics change that?

The group agreed that the current economic system, particularly mainstream economics, has a blind spot when it comes to the lives of the most vulnerable. Women, marginalized communities, and people from the Global South are often invisible in conventional economic models, which tend to prioritize profit over people. So, the goal was to craft a curriculum that would illuminate how these groups are affected by the structures of power, and how we could redesign economic systems that center human well-being, rather than profit.

The curriculum couldn’t just exist within the conventional boundaries of economics. It needed to draw from a wider pool of ideas anti-imperial frameworks, feminist theory, and regional economic realities.How can we rethink value in an economic system that so often exploits people and the environment?

The group also proposed focusing on embodiment the real, lived experiences of people in the economy, particularly the ways in which gender and labor are interconnected. It’s not enough to simply look at raw statistics. Feminist economics should also engage with the stories and realities behind the data: Who is doing the work? Who benefits? Who’s left behind?

This led to another key question: How do we define economic value? Mainstream economics tends to prioritize profit and growth as indicators of success. Feminist economics, on the other hand, asks deeper questions—What’s the value of human life? What’s the value of care work? These aren’t questions that traditional economics can easily answer, but they’re exactly the questions feminist economics seeks to address.

The group also pointed out the need for an intersectional approach to the curriculum, acknowledging that feminist economics must vary based on regional contexts. What works in Latin America might not be the same as what works in Africa or Asia, and the curriculum must be flexible enough to adapt to these local realities.

Key Points from the Discussion

1. Feminist Economics as a Challenge to Mainstream Economics: The curriculum needs to critique mainstream economics for its narrow focus on profit, while expanding our understanding of value to include human well-being, care work, and the environment.
2. Regional Relevance: The curriculum must be adaptable and sensitive to different regional realities. Issues in Latin America, Africa (and within), and Asia are distinct, and the feminist economics perspective must reflect those differences.
3. Anti-Imperial Framework: A central theme will be examining how imperialism and global power structures shape economic systems, particularly in ways that harm women and marginalized communities. This critique should be foundational to the curriculum.
4. Value Creation: The curriculum must explore how value is created in the economy not just in terms of money, but in terms of human labor, care, and social reproduction.
5. Integrating Early Feminist Thinkers: The voices of early feminist economists (from other IDEAs project)
6. A Practical, Action-Oriented Approach: As much as the curriculum should be theoretical, it should also push for action. This means including case studies, group projects, and writing assignments that require participants to apply feminist economic principles to real-world issues (advocacy).
7. Training for Journalists and Educators: In addition to economists and scholars, journalists and educators should also be part of the training plan. They’re critical to spreading these ideas beyond academic circles and into broader public discourse.
8. A Communications Strategy: The group recognized the importance of amplifying feminist economics ideas through a robust communications strategy using a multi-media approach encompassing mainstream and social media (including websites,policy briefs, and op-eds to reach wider audiences).

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