Dr. Caitlin McLean presents research on expanding the feminist debate on Citizen’s Basic Income at WiSE workshop

Dr. Caitlin McLean presents research on expanding the feminist debate on Citizen’s Basic Income at WiSE workshop

Dr. Caitlin McLean, Ailsa McKay Postdoctoral Fellow at the Women in Scotland’s Economy (WiSE) Research Centre, led a workshop on 29 April in the first of a two part-series on basic income and gender inequality.

Following an introduction by Morag Gillespie, Senior Research Fellow at WiSE, Dr. McLean presented an overview of the feminist debate on Citizen’s Basic Income, including the work of the late Professor Ailsa McKay. A key focus of this debate has been the question of care work, with advocates arguing that basic income proposals have the potential to correct the paid work bias of contemporary social security systems while critics contend that basic income does little to directly challenge the gendered division of labour.

The workshop was interactive, with participants engaging in a substantive discussion about the gaps in the feminist debate about basic income and ways to take it forward, including recognition of the specific challenges of women living in poverty and the role of a basic income in providing financial security and autonomy. Participants included researchers from WiSE and the GCU School for Business & Society as well as practitioners and advocates from the public and voluntary sector.