International Association for Feminist Economics


The International Association for Feminist Economics is a non-profit international association dedicated to raising awareness and inquiry of feminist economics. It has some eight hundred members in over 90 countries. The association publishes a quarterly journal entitled Feminist Economics.
WWW Official Site𝕏 IAFFE

History

In 1990 Diana Strassmann organized a panel named, Can feminism find a home in economics? in which a number of scholars, including Nobel Prize-winner Claudia Goldin, participated. Strassmann credits Goldin for suggesting the panel's title. Jean Shackelford and April Aerni specifically invited members of the audience to join a start-up network for economists which would be overtly feminist in outlook. In 1992 this network became the International Association for Feminist Economics with Shackleford becoming the first president.
By 2003 IAFFE had more than five hundred members from over thirty countries. The association's president from 2003 to 2004 was Lourdes Benería. Shahra Razavi paid tribute to Benería in a speech at the IAFFE conference in 2012 describing Benería's work as, "not only empirically grounded and conceptually informed, but also contributing to a feminist critique that is systemic and connected to a broader critique of capitalism".
IAFFE was awarded a grant of $1.5 million in 2010 from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), to continue their work, including the publication of special issues of Feminist Economics. Since then the association has gone on to number eight hundred members in over ninety countries.
Starting in 2022 the organization entered a new, increasingly dynamic phase of its existence. This builds to some extent on the paradoxical success of its 2020 Conference: due to be held in Quito in 2020, it was postponed for a year due to COVID, and then had to move entirely online when it took place in 2021. The Conference's online nature attracted a large participation and set the ground for a new and rich series of online events. Online events include introductions to key topics in Feminist Economics, such as sessions on with Diane Elson and Jayati Ghosh, or on the with .
In 2023 IAFFE launched new activities on teaching Feminist Economics and on identifying barriers to Feminist Economics.
The Association's funders now include Co-Impact and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. IAFFE's Annual Conferences receive regular support from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and others.

Conferences

One of IAFFE's main activities is its annual Conference. The most recent took place at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in July 2025.
IAFFE also takes part in the Allied Social Science Associations (ASSA) annual conference every year.
#YearPlaceTheme1st1992American University, Washington DC USAIAFFE Conference Programs
2nd1993American University, Washington DC USA ; Amsterdam, the Netherlands in conjunction with "Out of the Margin" conference - also organized 8 panels for the UN Conference in Beijing, ChinaFeminist economic inquiry.----
3rd1994Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin USAIAFFE Conference Programs----
4th1995Tours, FranceFeminist economic inquiry.----
5th1996American University, Washington DC, USAFeminist economic inquiry.----
6th1997Taxco, MexicoFeminist economic inquiry.----
7th1998Amsterdam, the NetherlandsFeminist approaches to economics.----
8th1999Carleton University, Ottawa, CanadaFeminist economic inquiry.----
9th2000Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, TurkeyFeminist economic inquiry.----
10th2001Holmenkollen Hotel, Oslo, NorwayFeminist economic inquiry.----
11th2002Occidental College, California, USAFeminist economic inquiry.----
12th2003The Centre for Gender and Development Studies, The University of the West Indies, Barbados, West IndiesFeminist economic inquiry.----
13th2004St Hilda's College, Oxford, EnglandFeminist economic inquiry.----
14th2005Washington DC, USAFeminist economic inquiry.----
15th2006Sydney, AustraliaFeminist economic inquiry.----
16th2007Ramkhamhaeng University, Bangkok, ThailandFeminist economic inquiry.----
17th2008Torino, ItalyWomen's work and education in the global economy.----
18th2009Simmons College, Boston, MA, USAGlobal economic crises impacts women differently.----
19th2010Buenos Aires, ArgentinaGlobal economic crises and feminist rethinking of the development discourse.----
20th2011Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, ChinaReorienting economic theory, policies, and institutions: Feminist perspectives in the aftermath of the global economic crisis.----
21st2012Barcelona, SpainHuman well-being for the 21st century: weaving alliances from feminist economics----
22nd2013Stanford University, Palo Alto, CaliforniaFeminist economists’ perspectives on women's education and work across the globe----
23rd2014University of Ghana, Accra, GhanaWomen's economic empowerment and the new global development agenda.----
24th2015Berlin, GermanyPapers invited on the issues of: Gender, monetary and fiscal policies / Women's employment, families and austerity programs / Deflation and gender in a complex global world / Women's employment and Central Bank policies during the post-crisis period economic empowerment, ethics and gender development / Gender, microcredit and microfinance.----
25th2016Galway, IrelandTransitions and transformations in gender equality.----
26th2017Sungshin University, Seoul, South KoreaGender equalities in a multi-polar world.----
27th2018SUNY New Paltz, New Platz, NY USAFeminist debates on migration, inequalities and resistance.----
28th2019Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, ScotlandTheme: tbc.----
29th2020FLACSO Ecuador, Quito, EcuadorCancelled due to COVID.----
29th2021FLACSO Ecuador, Quito, EcuadorOnline only.----
30th2022Graduate Institute, Geneva, SwitzerlandTransforming global governance for social justice: Feminist economics and the fight for human rights----
31st2023ACEIR, Cape Town, South AfricaEnvisioning Feminist Economics Strategies for an Equitable and Sustainable World----
32nd2024Sapienza, Rome, ItalyCaught Between the Digital Revolution and a Crisis of Democracy: Feminist Economics Responses and Imaginations for the Future----
33rd2025University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USATheme to be determined----

Grants

YearAwarding body / organizationAmountPurpose of grant2010Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA)$1,500,000 USIAFFE work and special issues of Feminist Economics.
2011Ford Foundation$250,000 USIn support of a project on "Land, Gender, and Food Security".----
2014Routledge and Taylor & Francis$1,500 USThe Rhonda Williams Prize.----
2022Co-Impact Gender Fundapprox $1 million USBuilding a Transformative Feminist Economics and Feminist Leadership to Shape the Future of Economics----

The Rhonda Williams Prize

IAFFE offer a prize scholarship in memory of former associate editor of Feminist Economics, Rhonda Williams. In 2014 the amount awarded was $1,500 to be given out at their summer conference to allow underrepresented groups in IAFFE attend the conference and present a paper. Award winners must demonstrate a commitment to one or more of the following issues: inequalities; interrelationships ; and connections between scholarship and activism. Funding is provided by both Routledge and, Taylor & Francis.
IAFFE also offers other prizes for published works or service to Feminist Economics.

Association members

2020-21 Board of Directors

This is list of who is sitting on the board of IAFFE.President - Lee BadgettPresident-Elect - Sara CantillonExecutive Vice President and Treasurer - Shaianne OsterreichExecutive Vice President and Secretary - Lynda PickbournEditor, Feminist Economics - Elissa BraunsteinPast President - Cheryl Doss

Additional board members

  • Valeria Esquivel
  • Rebeca Gomez Betancourt
  • Lynda Pickbourn
  • Caroline Shenaz Hossein
  • Sheba Tejani
  • Marcella Corsi
  • Heidi Hartmann
  • Fatimah Kelleher

Past presidents

This is a list of presidents of the IAFFE.

Publications

Journals

Feminist Economics.

Books by IAFFE members

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