Emma Holten

How can we create a better future - one that truly prioritises health and happiness? For too long, economic thinkers have left out acts of care - written off as 'women's work' for centuries - from their calculations. The result? Terrible real-world consequences today: crumbling public services, struggling schools and care systems on the brink of collapse. In Deficit, prominent Danish feminist Emma Holten reveals how and why this happened, and argues that the things that matter - doing homework with your child, checking in on loved ones, talking to a colleague who doesn't seem well - might seem inconsequential, but are in fact the building blocks of the economy. Urgent and incisive, this is a call to rethink the economic value of care. 'One of the most important feminist voices of the 21st century' - Sofie Hagen

In 2020, the prominent Danish feminist Emma Holten read an article stating that women were a net ‘deficit’ to society. Women took more than they gave, ‘draining’ the public purse by giving birth and taking parental leave. They contributed less than their fair share in taxes, because they often worked part-time to look after other people at home, or held low-paid jobs in the public sector. Denmark would be richer if women’s lives looked more like men’s, the economic experts concluded. A similar story is told around the globe. How did we get here? In Deficit, Emma Holten traces how economic thinkers – from the Enlightenment onwards – created a value framework that overlooked and neglected ‘women’s work’ and acts of care. She reveals how the economic models that drive political decisions today are just as flawed, giving us unparalleled monetary wealth, but causing deep social harms that are hurting us all. If we cannot properly value the things that matter, how can we build a better future?