ABSTRACT
The concept of degrowth or planned economic contraction – through strategies such as work-time reduction, part-time work, job sharing and flexible work, and the simultaneous expansion of social security nets through policies such as universal basic income and universal social protection – has received significant attention within some European countries in recent years. We draw upon domestic, international, and cross-sectoral evidence in this chapter to understand how the concept of degrowth or planned economic contraction might be reconciled with gender equality and social justice to guide public policy and practice agendas in Canada and other industrialised countries. We reviewed the existing scientific and practitioner literature published within the past 14 years (2010–2024) on degrowth, gender equality, and social equity, including within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022), to identify the potential impacts that degrowth in industrialised countries may have on women, gender relations, gender equality, and social equity. Our findings suggest that a democratically planned, yet adaptive, sustainable, equitable and redistributive downscaling of the economy may lead to a future where people in Canada and other affluent countries can live better with less. COVID-19 may serendipitously have provided a convincing rationale for degrowth in industrialised countries.
