Taking stock
The financial crisis and development perspectives from a feminist perspective
WIDE´s Position paper on the global social, economic and environmental crisis
Vienna, January 2010
„The crisis probably marks the end of a global development model. The collapse of the financial system is the merging point for other dimensions of the crisis and brings to light the weaknesses of the growth model. Thus, the financial crisis merges with the environmental-, food- , and sustainable livelihoods crises and also, of particular importance to this session, with the care crisis. We must not let the spectacular nature of the financial breakdown make us forget these other
structural crises.“ (Amaia Pérez Orozco 2009)
As 2008 progressed, it gradually became clearer that the US real estate crisis was not just a normal economic hiccup. A huge speculation bubble had burst, leading to the crash of a sick global economic and financial system. For years, critical economists, representatives of NGOs and many women’s organisations had been warning of the pending collapse of this global house of cards. But how did it come to pass? What are the system’s structural weaknesses?