On 11th April, SPERI welcomed doctoral researchers from universities across the UK and beyond to a one day workshop for women and non-binary scholars of political economy. The workshop consisted of two sessions in which established scholars in the field offered reflections, followed by small and large group discussions. It was organised by SPERI’s Doctoral Researcher Network co-convenors.
The first session focused on the contributions of feminist political economy to the wider field. Dr Hannah Schling (UCL) spoke to the articulations of gender, race and class that structure the economy, and the various scales at which political-economic processes play out – including the global, national, local and household. Dr Alessandra Mezzadri (SOAS) offered reflections on the sites, people and processes that feminist political economy helps us to see, encouraging a reworking of more conventional political-economic categories. These reflections led participants to discuss how feminist political economy has informed their own work, and where they would like to see further developments in the field.
The second session explored experiences of being a woman or non-binary person in the field of political economy. Dr Ellie Gore (University of Manchester) spoke about their own personal experience, emphasising the importance of mentorship and finding your people. Dr Merisa Thompson (University of Birmingham) then reflected on the interdisciplinarity and expansiveness of feminist political economy, and the challenges and rewards of finding your niche within it. The participants then discussed their own experiences of moving through the field as people of marginalised genders, and the progress they would like to see in their own institutions moving forward.
The event offered an invaluable opportunity for doctoral researchers to connect with one another and more senior researchers. It created a mutually supportive space for candid and productive discussion of the intellectual and political contributions of feminist political economy, and how it connects to the reflexive experience of political economy research. The group is planning further collaboration in the future. SPERI is grateful to the Doctoral Researcher Network, participants and guest speakers for attending, and we look forward to seeing what comes next.