“Economica: A global history of women, wealth and power” by Victoria Bateman
Economica: A global history of women, wealth and power by Dr. Victoria Bateman charts the course of women’s contribution to their national economy and acknowledges work done as being within and without the house too. Quite contrary to what Adam Smith believed that only paid work outside the home was construed as a contribution to the economy. Whereas Dr Bateman shows through empirical evidence marshalled from as far as the Stone Age to the present, the AI age, that women’s contribution, paid or unpaid was an essential part of the economy. Her book is packed with facts, anecdotes, histories, archaeological evidence, data sets etc. For instance, marriage contracts signed between the 11C and 15C included a clause wherein the woman could state she had the right to work after marriage. There are so many bits and pieces of information to share but the most enlightening was her use of the word “overlooked”. To use it constantly in the context of new evidence that confirmed the value of a woman’s work in the past is very empowering use of a simple word. It gives the reader the opportunity to reflect upon situations that they themselves may have been, where their evidence and work is overlooked whereas they are on the right path. It is new evidence so others cannot see it, recognise it, value it, or understand it. Developing faith in oneself and growing from there is what this book helps to achieve. It is not just a revisiting of inherited economic history narratives.
Here are two snippets from the book:
p. 218-9 Mary Wollstonecraft and morality
Wollstonecraft’s family’s attempts to climb the social ladder framed how she saw the world: through the lens of the section of society that lived a life somewhere between aristocrats and ordinary people. She witnessed the way in which this newly expanding class attempted to distinguish themselves from ordinary people through not only money but also morality. And how, by developing what she called this ‘insipid decency’, they could judge themselves to be ‘better’ than the libertine aristocracy. This middle-class monopoly on morality had particularly implications for women, who were expected to be the virginal angels who set a good example to other women in society. By trumpeting the virtues of female purity, the middle classes wanted to ensure that working-class girls, despite their freedom to earn, would not be able to compete with middle-class daughters when it came to attracting the wealthiest husbands. By shrouding the paid labour of women in moral shame, this purity culture risked devaluing the contribution that countless ordinary women were making to the economy, while turning middle-class women into highly-valued, ‘precious’ commodities. Since work for middle-class women was considered nothing more than a stop-gap and could not be allowed to jeopardise their marriage prospect by causing their marriage prospects by causing their virginity to be treated as suspect, ‘decency’ came at the cost of women’s dependence on men. Indeed, the very ability of the middle classes to claim the moral high ground depended on the fact that preserving a young woman’s bodily modesty – ensuring that she was untouched by men – came at a price not only to her but also to her family, who had to ensure that she was chaperoned at all times, was taught separately to boys, and did not have to work alongside men to support herself financially. It was a cost that better-off families were able to bear, but one that working-class families, be design, found unaffordable. Morality, in other words, cost money. And Wollstonecraft had little time for it.
Another one from the book:
I had the good fortune of speaking with Dr Bateman for TOI Bookmark. As soon as the link is released, I will upload it here as well.
The book is published by Hachette India.
23 Oct 2025
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