Women's work and GLI: The Pictou statement

Some feminists have an ambivalent relationship with Guaranteed Livable Income, but there is a group of Canadian feminists who have given a very unequivocal endorsement.

In 2004, 15 feminists from across the country gathered in Pictou, Nova Scotia for a two day dialogue on feminist economics. The gathering was convened by the journal Canadian Woman Studies, for a special issue they were preparing on the economy.

The result was much bigger than a journal article on economics. They developed the Pictou Statement – a blunt assessment of how women’s work is treated, and a call for the equal sharing of work, responsibility and wealth. The Statement ends with a call for a “guaranteed living income for all residents set at a level to enable comfortable living.”

The statement has since been endorsed by women’s groups, including the Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres.

For more information on the development of the statement, and to see the full text of the statement, check out Lee Lakeman’s article in Said It.