ABSTRACT
Feminist thought has expressed forceful criticism of the economistic and reductionist idea of development that sidelines social equity and individual and collective well-being as the ultimate objectives in the construction of an economy. Besides the differences within feminism, the common ground is the understanding of the economy embedded in a patriarchal order, that is, a structure of power relations with a male dominance throughout organised society and in personal relationships. Feminism faces theoretical and political challenges in order to articulate with other perspectives and movements to build new development paths. From a pluralist perspective on the economy, new feminist viewpoints contribute to new understandings of solidarity, justice, and sustainability, and open questions about the relationship between home, community, market, and state in the political contention for an alternative development. This chapter follows feminist thinking and action about the economy, work, and gender equity. It summarises its contribution to new understandings of economy and work, alongside family and household internal dynamics. This scholarship led to the important claim of care as a social right and opened a debate with the social and solidarity literature and movement. These problems raised by feminism are at the heart of a critical debate on development.
