Brulé Publishes Op-Ed on Political Economy Gender Gap

Rachel Brulé, Assistant Professor of Global Development Policy at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, published a The Quint op-ed exploring the “political economy gender gap” and how social norms in India prevent women from controlling wealth and limit social resilience.  

In the article, titled “Why Women’s Control of Wealth is Important for Pandemic Recovery,” Brulé and co-author Nikhar Gaikwad, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, break down their recent study – published in The Journal of Politics – from the that explored wealth-control norms in India. Specifically, the research found that decreases in women’s wealth results in “less female political representation and fewer female policy priorities [realized].”

Additionally, Brulé and Gaikwad’s research explored the policy views and how decision-making differs in matrilineal and patrilineal societies. Their findings prove that increasing women’s economic opportunities and autonomy alone will not result in more political representation; the social norms preventing women from controlling wealth are at the heart of this issue and must be addressed.

The full article can be read on The Quint‘s website.

Rachel Brulé is an Assistant Professor of Global Development Policy at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and core faculty of the Global Development Policy Center’s Human Capital Initiative. Her research interests are broadly in comparative politics, international development, political economy, and gender, with a geographical focus on South Asia. Read more about Brulé on her faculty profile.