On today’s show, host Dana Pellebon is in conversation with Misty L. Heggeness about her new book, Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy. Heggeness is a professional economist, and in her book she blends a data-driven approach to women’s work and gender analysis. She says that economics is a useful tool for understanding how people behave at a societal scale and in our homes. Taylor Swift is Heggeness’s muse, helping Heggeness describe economic trends. For instance, the average income of a woman who lives in one of the cities where Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stopped is only $30K-$40K. This tells us about the economic status of women today, especially when you break down salaries by profession. However, Heggeness insists that women have significant economic power–as consumers and in their homes. On average, women do an hour more economic work a day than men, says Heggeness. Heggeness says that the field of economics is a male-dominated field and she wanted to write her book to center women, like her grandmother who was “the most efficient CEO of her household and garden” in the stories we tell about the economy. Taylor Swift becomes the stand in for the “modern” millennial woman who has greater educational attainment and is delaying marriage and having kids. Contrary to previous generations, folks today are getting married based on shared interests, rather than on building efficient households, says Heggeness. They also discuss how Kansas recently revoked the drivers licenses of trans women and men, how consumers boycotted Target after the company turned its back on DEI, and how too many people making policy decisions have “care privilege.” She wants to see more care givers voted into office. Note: This pledge drive interview was edited to remove parts of the show dedicated to station fundraising. We thank our listeners for their generous support. Misty L. Heggeness is co-director of the Kansas Population Center, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at the University of Kansas, and former Principal Economist and Senior Advisor at the US Census Bureau. She is also creator of The Care Board, a dashboard of economic statistics built by and for caregivers that brings their economic contributions into the fold. Her new book Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy merges three passions – economics, women’s rights, and, of course, Taylor Swift. She has over a decade of experience leading high-profile research that informed decision-making within the U.S. federal government. Her research focuses on poverty & inequality, gender economics, and the high-skilled workforce, and has appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Economist, and Science. Featured image of the cover of Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy by Misty L. Heggeness. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here The post Economic Empowerment, Babe appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.
