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The Feminist Valuing the Devalued Process

Marilyn Waring and Valuing the Devalued

Her Life:

Marilyn Waring is a New Zealand feminist and activist who has greatly contributed to pushing the issue of valuing women's work in government. She became the youngest member of New Zealand's parliament in 1975 at the age of 22 and remained in this post until 1984. During this time, she promoted supporting women in the home and including unpaid work in the GDP. Since then, she has become a member of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and held fellowships at Harvard University and Rutgers University. Recently, she has been working as a Professor of Public Policy at AUT University in Auckland New Zealand.

Feminist Causes:

Waring has dedicated her life to a variety of causes. She fought to make women's work an international human rights issue, and provides aid and resources to women imprisoned or denied refugee status. One of the first outspoken critics of GDP, she supports efforts to find alternative and better measure of human wellbeing. As an out lesbian, she speaks in support of gay issues and is an avid supporter of same-sex marriage. Her dealings in Parliament lead to New Zealand being the first country to ban nuclear ships from its harbors.

Further Readings:

• Waring, Marilyn. Women, Politics, and Power: Essays, Unwin Paperbacks-Port Nicholson Press (1985). ISBN 0-8686-1562-5
• Waring, Marilyn. If Women Counted: A New Feminist Economics, Macmillan (1989). ISBN 0-3334-9262-5
• Waring, Marilyn. Three Masquerades: Essays on Equality, Work and Hu(man) Rights, Auckland: Auckland University Press with Bridget Williams Books (1996). ISBN 0-8020-8076-6.
• Waring, Marilyn. Counting for Nothing: What Men Value and What Women are Worth, Bridget Williams Books (1998). [first published 1977; reprinted seven times] ISBN 0-8020-8260-2.

Filmography

Audio

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