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Feminist Epistemology and Business Ethics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2021

Lauren Kaufmann Open the ORCID record for Lauren Kaufmann [Opens in a new window]
Lauren Kaufmann*
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University of Pennsylvania
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Abstract

Neoclassical economics has become the predominant school of economic thought, influencing scholarship on management, organizations, and business ethics. However, many feminist economists challenge the individualist and positivist foundations of neoclassical economic epistemology, arguing instead that purportedly gender-neutral and value-free methods routinely and systematically leave out and undervalue women. Extending this proposition, this article introduces the epistemic foundations of feminist economics and illustrates how they can produce novel insights relevant for business ethics. In particular, by examining economic phenomena from the point of view of the people they affect, feminist economic epistemology is able to elucidate the ways in which power asymmetries and gender norms that constitute the social world can be reflected in business practices. I apply this methodological insight to three case studies of global supply chains to challenge the neoclassical assertion that including women in labor markets necessarily catalyzes gender equality.

Keywords

feminismepistemologygenderlaborglobalization
Type
Article
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 32 , Issue 4 , October 2022 , pp. 546 - 572
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for Business Ethics

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