Feminist Economics - an extension

This is the 7th part of the "Leftie Serie" which I created after attending the People & Planet Conference on the 8th of March 2014. 
Here are links to the other posts: Feminist Economics, Inequality, Financial Crisis, Layoffs vs. Bonuses, Defending the 1%, The Austerity Myth

After a few very rewarding discussions following my post on Feminist Economics the other week, I had enough material for an extension on the subject.

Most of the critique I had regarded the idea that I, simply, missed the actual point of feminist economics. Also, when a friend of mine explained how naturally the alleged wage gap disappears when accounting for all variables (including say lifestyle choices), that moved my perception a bit further. Great discussion!

Anyways, his argument was as follows: if we assume a patriarchy within the workforce, women systematically being discriminated against, rewarded less wages for their labour regardless of experience/knowledge etc. The entire feminist story, essentially. If we assume that, we'd consequently have to assume that women value certain things (say leisure, or providing care, or rather stay home with the kids etc) more than do men. My argument is based entirely on this valuation, where I claimed it was inherently individual and thus acceptable. However, my friend pointed out, what if - given said assumptions - women are taught to value certain things more than they naturally or individually would have done absent such teachings?

Such a statement could obviously be questioned epistemologically. But, if taken at face value it does change the outcome of the argument, and I would be inclined to accept the raison d'être of feminist economics.

However, obvious criticism occurs. Questioning why an agent value a good or service in a certain way, which is at the bottom of this new foundation of feminist economics, leaves the field of economics. Economics take valuations and actions by individuals, corporations or government as given. We question what incentives govern the outcome and how these incentives and actions change; but economists regularly don't take into account why an individual prefer a certain type of goods over another. It is simply taken for granted, assumed to be beyond the field.

Also, examining why individuals value certain actions over others is the subject of other fields; psychology or sociology instantly comes to mind. Thus, the sociological/political notion of feminism, adjusted for economics with a somewhat different point of view (including differing valuations between individuals/groups of individuals) instantly sends it straight outside the field again.

In this sense, feminist ideology applied to economics might be more relevant. However, it also firmly distinguishes itself from economics as an academic field, thus making "Feminist Economics" look like an oxymoron.