Category Archives: Feminism and Economics

CFP: It’s a Man’s World: Revealing and Addressing Hidden Gender Bias in Tax Law and Policy

American Tax Policy Institute Research Roundtable and Symposium It’s a Man’s World: Revealing and Addressing Hidden Gender Bias in Tax Law and Policy Expressions of interest due March 31, 2024 Program October 17-18, 2024, Washington DC The American Tax Policy Institute is pleased … Continue reading

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What is a “Menstrual Discharge Collection Device”?

Laura Strausfeld of Period Law explains the term here, and why it matters in the fight to eliminate the sales tax on menstrual products.

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Symposium 2/24—The Federal Income Tax: Racially Blind But Not Racially Neutral

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Privacy Concerns and Period Trackers; Mozilla Takes Notice

The concerns are not new. Michele Gilman (Baltimore) and others have been sounding this alarm for some time now.  (Read Professor Gilman’s important essay, Periods for Profit and Menstrual Surveillance, 41 Colum. J. Gender & Law 100 (2021)  here.) What … Continue reading

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Menopause Is Not Always a “Problem” to be Stopped

Menopause is an inevitable aspect of aging for approximately half the population. Its symptoms vary widely. For some people, the symptoms are relatively mild. For others symptoms can be outright debilitating. Emily Waldman (Pace), Naomi Cahn (UVa) and I explore … Continue reading

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Exploration of “Menstrual Pollution” Beliefs in Sweden

Josefin Persdotter (PhD candidate in Sociology, University of Gothenburg) has published her thesis, Menstrual Dirt: An Exploration of Contemporary Menstrual Hygiene Practices in Sweden, as an open-access book, available for free download here. A short description of the book follows: … Continue reading

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Open Access Book Announcement—The Politics and History of Menstruation: Contextualising the Scottish Campaign to End Period Poverty

On May 28, 2022, Menstrual Hygiene Day, the Open Library of Humanities will publish a new open-access volume, The Politics and History of Menstruation: Contextualising the Scottish Campaign to End Period Poverty.  Here is the publisher’s description: In 2021, Scotland … Continue reading

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Battling Trolls, Goblins and Structural Sexism: How the Period Emoji Ended up on your Phone

Guest post by Carmen Barlow and Lucy Russell If you have a smartphone, it’s pretty likely you’ve used an emoji. These tiny images have become a language of their own and whether it’s a goblin mask, a sad cat or … Continue reading

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New Article: “Period Poverty in a Pandemic: Harnessing Law to Achieve Menstrual Equity”

Emily Gold Waldman (Pace) and I have posted to SSRN a draft of our article Period Poverty in a Pandemic: Harnessing Law to Achieve Menstrual Equity, 98 Wash. U. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2021). Here is the abstract: Period poverty is … Continue reading

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Does Marketing Contribute to Taboos Around Menstruation?

The following is a guest post by Rachel Rosenblum, a student at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. I’ve been in school for the past twenty-years, and depending on how you view the situation, seven of those … Continue reading

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Nevada #Tampon Tax FAQs

The State of Nevada has posted (here) some FAQs about the tampon tax in that jurisdiction: When is the exemption effective? The exemption became effective January 1, 2019. If my business sells feminine hygiene products, what do we need to … Continue reading

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Caterine on Gender & Bankruptcy

Emma Caterine, a 2018 graduate of CUNY Law School, has posted to SSRN her article A Fresh Start for a Women’s Economy: Beyond Punitive Consumer Bankruptcy, 33 Berkeley J. of Gender, Law & Justice (2018). Here is the abstract: This … Continue reading

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Ohio House of Representatives Votes to Repeal Tampon Tax

Today the Ohio House of Representatives voted 84-1 to eliminate the state sales tax on menstrual hygiene products.  House Bill 545, a larger tax bill, had significant bipartisan support. The bill included the exemption for menstrual hygiene products contained in … Continue reading

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CFP: New Trusts & Estates Collaborative Research Network of Law and Society Association

Trusts & Estates Collaborative Research Network Law and Society Association Call for Participation – Deadline October 8, 2018 [feminist scholarship warmly invited! –  Ed.] Organizers of the newly-formed Trusts & Estates Collaborative Research seek proposals that explore any aspect of … Continue reading

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Pruitt on “The Women Feminism Forgot: Rural and Working-Class White Women in the Era of Trump”

Feminist law prof Lisa Pruitt (UC Davis) has posted to SSRN her article The Women Feminism Forgot: Rural and Working-Class White Women in the Era of Trump, forthcoming in the University of Toledo Law Review.  Here is the abstract: This article, … Continue reading

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New Book on “Making Milk: The Past, Present and Future of Our Primary Food,” Cohen & Otomo, eds.

Mathilde Cohen (U Conn) and Yoriko Otomo (SOAS, University of London) have published an edited volume, Making Milk: The Past, Present and Future of Our Primary Food (Bloomsbury, 2017). Here is the publisher’s description: What is milk? Who is it … Continue reading

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You Might be Able to Buy Tampons (and Gym Memberships) with Pre-Tax Dollars

Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) led the way in getting menstrual hygiene products included on an expanded list of products for which flexible spending account funds can be used under H.R. 6199, Restoring Access to Medication and Modernizing Health Savings Accounts … Continue reading

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The Cyptocurrency Gender Gap

Ms. Magazine has the details here.  I can’t say I’m surprised at the stats.  Apart from whether cryptocurrency is a good/bad investment (and maybe women have figured out what isn’t great about it….), there are significant business opportunities that require … Continue reading

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Gilman and Green on “The Surveillance Gap”

Michele E. Gilman (Baltimore) & Rebecca Green (William & Mary) have posted to SSRN their article The Surveillance Gap: The Harms of Extreme Privacy and Data Marginalization, 42 NYU Rev. L. & Soc. Change 253 (2018). Here is the abstract: … Continue reading

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Financial Planning Websites for Women are so . . . Pink

From Glamour magazine, no less, this article, Financial Sites for Women Are Game Changing—but Do They Have to Be So Pink?  Here is an excerpt: If it succeeds, Dolla Dolla World will launch as an IRL pop-up, first in New … Continue reading

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Maynard on “How the NCAA Infringes on the Freedom of Families”

Goldburn P. Maynard Jr. (Louisville) has published in the Wisconsin Law Review Online his essay “They’re Watching You: How the NCAA Infringes on the Freedom of Families.”  Here is an excerpt: This Essay argues that the NCAA’s surveillance of the … Continue reading

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Is Access to Affordable Menstrual Products a “Right”? Men and Women Disagree. But Men are Curious About Robots.

This week Eleanor Goldberg, a reporter at the Huffington Post, published an article, “Lots Of Men Still Don’t See Tampons As A Basic Right.” Here is an excerpt: In a YouGov survey of more than 2,000 American adults released this … Continue reading

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Tait on “Corporate Family Law”

Allison Anna Tait (Richmond) has published Corporate Family Law, 112 Nw. U. L. Rev. 1 (2017).  Here is the abstract: There is no such thing as corporate family law. But there are corporate families, and corporate families fight. What happens … Continue reading

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What We Know (and Don’t Know) About the Tax Code’s Impact on Small Businesses Owned by Women

Caroline Bruckner, an Executive in Residence, Department of Accounting and Taxation at the Kogood School of Business (American University), has published a report entitled Billion Dollar Blind Spot: How the U.S. Tax Code’s Small Business Expenditures Impact Women Business Owners. It … Continue reading

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Zurich Tampon Tax Protesters Turn Fountains Red

Earlier this week, members of Aktivistin.ch, a feminist collective in Zurich, Switzerland, ooured food dye into various public fountains in order to protest the tampon tax. Here’s an excerpt from English-language press in Switzerland: Spokeswoman Carmen Schoder said the #happytobleed … Continue reading

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Spotlight on UDC Legislation Clinic Students’ Advocacy for #TamponTax Repeal

I mentioned here that students in the Legislation Clinic at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law were among those testifying on behalf of the proposed legislation repealing D.C. tax on diapers and menstrual … Continue reading

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D.C. Considering Repeal of the Tampon Tax

The Council of the District of Columbia’s Finance and Revenue Committee held hearings earlier this week on B21-696, the “Feminine Hygiene and Diapers Sales Tax Exemption Amendment Act of 2016.” Students in the Legislation Clinic at the University of the … Continue reading

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Lawsuit Challenging Improper Sales Tax on Toilet Paper

A New Jersey couple has filed a class action lawsuit against retailer Costco for improperly charging sales tax on toilet paper, when the state law specifically exempts toilet paper from the tax.  See the CNBC story here. This case is … Continue reading

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Chemerinsky on the Tampon Tax

Erwin Chemerinsky (UC Irvine) published a column in last week’s Los Angeles Daily News.  Here is an excerpt: If the government were to say that only men or only women had to pay an additional tax of several hundred dollars … Continue reading

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Lipman on Anti-Poverty Relief Delivered Through the Tax Code

Francine Lipman (UNLV) blogs here at the Surly Subgroup about newly-released national and state poverty statistics. The post is a short and clear explanation of how significant anti-poverty relief is delivered through the tax code to millions of people, including … Continue reading

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Interview with Zoe Salzman, New York Attorney Challenging the “Tampon Tax”

Bridget J. Crawford recently spoke with Zoe Salzman, Esq. of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP in New York.  Ms. Salzman is representing the plaintiffs in a class action that challenges the New York “tampon tax,” the state sales tax … Continue reading

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Posted in Feminism and Economics, Women and Economics, Women's Health | 1 Comment

Making Women’s Periods Commercial-Chic (Who Benefits?)

Is there nothing that escapes commercialization?  A U.K. company called Pink Parcel is hawking “Period Subscription Boxes” to deliver to your home each month tampons, pads, tea, chocolate, beauty products (like tweezers! hand cream!).  Goodies come in recyclable and biodegradable … Continue reading

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NYS Repeals Tampon Tax

In May, the New York State legislature passed a bill eliminating the sales tax on feminine hygiene products. As expected, that bill was signed into law yesterday by Governor Andrew Cuomo. In the press release (here) issued by the Governor’s … Continue reading

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Free Tampons in the 212: NYC Passes New Law

Last month the New York City Council passed laws requiring the City to provide free menstrual hygiene products in schools, homeless shelters and jails.  Here’s an excerpt from the press release: Feminine hygiene products are essential for the health and … Continue reading

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“A Papa Murphy’s take-and-bake pizza is not essential in the same way as feminine hygiene products are to menstruating women”

This week the Appellate Court of Illinois, Fifth District, has served up some very quotable dicta.  The court affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action against Papa Murphy’s International, a pizza franchisor, and a local franchisee, located in Edwardsville, … Continue reading

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Free ABA Telecast – “The Tax Code and Income Inequality: Limitations and Political Opportunities”

The ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice is hosting this free teleconference, co-sponsored with the ABA Section on Taxation. Feminist Law Prof Francine Lipman (UNLV) is one of the featured speakers. FREE TELECONFERENCE* The Tax Code and Income … Continue reading

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Aloni on Ending Tax Breaks for Marriage

Erez Aloni (Whittier) has published an op-ed in the (UK) Guardian, Married People Tend to be Wealthier, So Why Give Them Tax Breaks?  Here is an excerpt: If marriage is increasingly the preserve of those who are already better off, … Continue reading

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Heen, “Nondiscrimination in Insurance: The Next Chapter”

Mary Heen (Richmond) has posted to SSRN her article, Nondiscrimination in Insurance:  The Next Chapter,  49 Georgia L. Rev. 1 (2014).  Here is the abstract: For nearly 150 years, American insurance companies have engaged in race and gender pricing practices … Continue reading

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Cost of Child Care is a Feminist Issue

Writing for the Berkeley alumni magazine, author Tamara Straus asks, “What Stalled the Gender Revolution? Child Care That Costs More Than College Tuition.” Here is an excerpt: Vox reported in August that child care costs are growing at nearly twice … Continue reading

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A Feminist Theoretical Take on Virginity Auctions

Various press outlets (not linked here) have reported that a medical school student planned to auction her virginity and then cancelled that plan.  Over at Feminist Current, Elisa Haf writes thoughtfully about the situtation in “Student Virginity Auctions and Sexual Economics.” … Continue reading

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“Recently Kim, whose company helps users change and personalize their Android smartphone homescreens, contacted a male developer about whether he’d be interested in joining Locket. He responded, “Hey Yunha, I’m pretty happy with my current job, but if you’re single I’d like to date you. Perhaps there are some unconventional ways to lure me away from my company (besides stock options) if you know what I mean. ;)” “

That’s a paragraph from this discouraging article.

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“The gender wage gap has only closed by 1.7 percentage points over the last decade, compared to 3.1 points the decade before and 9.7 the decade before that. “

That’s the depressing news from this article entitled “We’ve Stopped Making Progress In Closing The Gender Wage Gap.”

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Posted in Employment Discrimination, Feminism and Economics | 1 Comment

Mini Symposium on Paid Egg “Donation”

For those of you who haven’t seen it, I wanted to point out the mini-symposium organized by Kim Krawiec (Duke) over at the Faculty Lounge on the Perez v. Commissioner case.  The case involves the tax treatment of amounts received … Continue reading

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Another Thoughtful Take on “Leaning In,” This One By bell hooks, and Called “Dig Deep: Beyond Lean In”

Read it here at The Feminist Wire. Below is an excerpt: Sandberg’s definition of feminism begins and ends with the notion that it’s all about gender equality within the existing social system. From this perspective, the structures of imperialist white … Continue reading

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Read Susan Faludi on “Facebook Feminism”

Unlike so many trite reviews of the “Lean In” phenomenon, Faludi brilliantly contextualizes her critique. Available at The Baffler, excerpt below: … In 1834, America’s first industrial wage earners, the “mill girls” of Lowell, Massachusetts, embarked on their own campaign … Continue reading

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Converge! Re-Imagining the Movement to End Gender Violence

CALL FOR PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS – SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL TO converge@law.miami.edu DUE DATE: Friday, October 18, 2013 (may be extended) For more conference information see http://www.law.miami.edu/academics/converge/ CONVERGE! Re-imagining the Movement to End Gender Violence, will bring together survivors, activists, and … Continue reading

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Posted in Academia, Activism, Acts of Violence, Call for Papers or Participation, Coerced Sex, Courts and the Judiciary, Employment Discrimination, Feminism and Economics, Feminism and Families, Feminism and Law, Feminism and Politics, Feminist Legal Scholarship, Feminists in Academia, Human Trafficking, Immigration, Legal Profession, LGBT Rights, Masculinity, Reproductive Rights, Sex Trafficking, Sexual Harassment, Socioeconomic Class, Upcoming Conferences | Comments Off on Converge! Re-Imagining the Movement to End Gender Violence

Shaken and Stirred, Women Leaving (Wall Street) Finance

Margo Epprecht on “The Real Reason Women Are Leaving Wall Street: Gentlemen Prefer Bonds.” Title cute, reasons not. But they’re also pretty predictable: a lot of sexism, along with the long hours, the financial crisis that caused many people to rethink … Continue reading

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“For most Americans, life expectancy continues to rise—but not for uneducated white women. They have lost five years, and no one knows why. “

TAP story by Monica Potts entitled “What’s Killing Poor White Women?” here.

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What’s Feminism Got to Do with It? “The Super Woman Myth”

Once again there is an article blaming feminism for “raising the bar too high” and making it impossible for real women to “have it all. “The Super Woman Myth: Where Feminism Went Wrong  (Unfortunately this article is behind a pay … Continue reading

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Aloni on “Relationship Recognition Madness”

Erez Aloni (Whittier) has published an op-ed,  “Relationship Recognition Madness.” at Huff Po.  Here is an excerpt. He takes on the new FAFSA rules that take account the income of co-habitating unmarried parents in determining a student’s eligibility for financial … Continue reading

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