How Gender Can Transform the Social Sciences

This collection turns a spotlight on gender innovation in the social sciences. Eighteen short and accessibly written case studies show how feminist and gender perspectives bring new concepts, theories and policy solutions. Scholars across five disciplines- economics, history, philosophy, political science and sociology - demonstrate how paying attention to gender can sharpen the focus of the social sciences, improve the public policy they inform, and change the way we measure things. Gender innovation provokes rethinking at both the core and the margins of established disciplines, sometimes developing alternative fields of research that chart new territory. These case studies celebrate the contribution of feminist and gender scholars and span topics ranging from budgeting, electoral systems and security studies to the ethics of care, emotional labor and climate change.

Marian Sawer is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University, an Officer of the Order of Australia and Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Fiona Jenkins is Associate Professor in the School of Philosophy at the Australian National University and current convenor of the ANU Gender Institute. Karen Downing, is a historian at the Australian National University and a researcher on the Gendered Excellence in the Social Sciences project.