Sex Factor

Victoria Bateman is a fellow and lecturer in economics at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University. She has led calls for a sexual revolution in economics as well as conducting various high profile ‘naked protests’ to highlight the marginalization of women’s bodies in public life.

‘[Victoria Bateman is] a bold, intelligent and original thinker... the Lady Godiva de nos jours.’The Amorist"A spirited exposure of the way that economics neglects gender, enlivened by the author's own experiences and beliefs. The unpaid work of women brings forth the labour force but is not properly acknowledged. And the more women are free to earn, the more their societies flourish."Professor Avner Offer, University of Oxford‘It always was insane to think of markets and the public sphere as independent of domestic life and the private sphere, as male economists did for centuries. In her crystal-clear book, Victoria Bateman provides a sane alternative. Read it and you’ll know how we all became free and rich and, we hope, a little bit saner.’Deirdre Nansen McCloskey, author of Bourgeois Equality‘Ever controversial, Victoria Bateman’s new book will cause a stir. While fun and engaging, it also packs a serious punch and explodes the myth that economics is gender neutral. If you are passionate about economics and feminism, this is well worth a read.’Ayesha Hazarika, stand-up comedian and former special adviser to Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman‘A fascinating argument…it certainly has originality on its side.’Andrew Billen, The Times"Strong and adventurous"The Guardian'Leading feminist Victoria Bateman shows how we can only understand the burning economic issues of our time if we put sex and gender – “the sex factor” – at the heart of the picture. Scouring the globe and drawing on thousands of years of history, Bateman tells a bold story about how the status and freedom of women are central to our prosperity.' GQ'Thought-provoking' Martin Wolf, Financial Times

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: ProsperityChapter 1. Censored: How the West (supposedly) got aheadChapter 2. Uncensored: The Secret Recipe of Economic SuccessPart II: InequalityChapter 3. When did sexism begin?Chapter 4. Income inequality: what does sex have to do with it?Chapter 5. Sex sellsPart III: State versus MarketsChapter 6. Marx versus MarketsChapter 7. Why women make better statesPart IV: HumanityChapter 8. Me, Myself and I: a history of the individualChapter 9. Humans versus RobotsChapter 10. Economics meets FeminismConclusionEndnotesBibliography