The Journey of a Southern Feminist

This inspiring book challenges mainstream ideas about development, held in both the global South and the global North, arguing that we must learn from the lives of low income women to reconstruct ideas about how economies function and what economic policies should be adopted at local, national and international levels. It should be read by everyone concerned to reduce inequality and end poverty

-- Diane Elson, * Emeritus Professor, University of Essex *

Decades ago Devaki Jain highlighted the significance of unpaid and unrecognised women’s work—which is now being recognised the world over as critical for economic analysis. This valuable collection of some of her important contributions shows how much she has innovated to expand analytical and empirical approaches in many other areas, in ways that will continue to be useful far into the future.

-- Jayati Ghosh, * Professor of Economics, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University *

I am a long-standing admirer of the work and life of Devaki Jain, one of the most respected and influential Southern voices in promoting the advancement of women and gender equality. The unique combination of Devaki’s political nous, economic brilliance and grassroots activism, has made her the voice of the unheard and disadvantaged women in developing countries. Through her work as an active member of the global women’s movement, as co-founder of many institutions such as Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) and as a member of the erstwhile South Commission, she has fought tirelessly for Southern women’s rights and brought visibility to their economic and social marginalisation. I am thrilled that Devaki’s important contributions are now to be collated and published in two volumes by Yoda Press. Part one, Journey of a Southern Feminist, will give the reader an insight into how Devaki brought into the public spotlight the conditions and contributions of women at the lower end of the global economy, and how and why she attached such importance to designing programmes generated from the characteristics of the Southern hemisphere. A must read for any feminist, development economist and activist.

-- Winnie Byanyima, * Executive Director, Oxfam International *
‘Decades ago Devaki Jain highlighted the significance of unpaid and unrecognised women’s work. This valuable collection of [Devaki Jain’s] important contributions shows how much she has innovated to expand analytical and empirical approaches in many other areas.’

-- Jayati Ghosh,
"These volumes, easily accessible to an international audience, complement Jain’s already extensive publications and should be read and appreciated in concert …. (She) is intuitively intersectional, emphasizing the dialectic between diversity and unity."  -- Feminist Economics, 24 May 2020
"These two books are remarkable contributions by a veteran feminist economist with an experience that spans the early period of India’s independence, forays into socialism and globalization and marks the unfolding of the women’s movement through these periods. These books are a must-read for all women’s studies." -- Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Vol. 27, Iss