A Feminist Economic Approach to the Spanish and Italian Economic Press During the State of Alarm for Covid

The consequences of the pandemic have shone a spotlight on the current economic system, often formulated as a dichotomy between life and the economy. This article analyses opinion articles published in the Italian and Spanish economic press during the state of alarm in Spring 2020, applying a gender and a feminist economics approach. The research was organised in two phases. In the first phase, quantitative analysis was applied to a sample of 1,284 opinion articles from leading economic blogs and newspapers in the Italian and Spanish press. In the second phase, qualitative content analysis was performed to explore the incorporation of gender or feminist economics. The results indicate an over-representation of male authors in both countries and a low percentage of gender perspective indicators. Except for inclusive language, both countries follow similar patterns: a relative presence of indicators of gender economics and little incorporation of indicators characteristic of feminist economics.