Veronica Beechey
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Veronica Beechey | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1946 |
| Died | 14 January 2021 (aged 74–75) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Sociology |
| Sub-discipline | Social class, Marxism, Economics, Women's studies |
| Institutions | Open University |
Veronica Beechey (1946–14 January 2021)[1][2] was a British feminist sociologist and patient's rights advocate.
Beechey was born in Hastings and grew up in Battle, Sussex. She attended Ashford School for Girls and Hastings College. She studied sociology at Essex University, achieving a first in her degree, before going to Oxford to complete a doctorate.[2]
Academic career
After teaching in America, in 1973, Beechey became lecturer in Sociology at Warwick University, before being recruited by the Open University in 1983 to initiate a women's studies course.[2]
In their article 'Woman and the Reserve Army of Labour: A Critique of Veronica Beechey', Floya Anthias raised questions around Beechey's 1977 article 'Some Notes on Female Wage Labour', while also recognising that it was "the most sophisticated and influential attempt to analyse women's wage labour by using or reconstituting the categories of Marx's Capital".[3]
Beechey's book, Unequal Work, published with Verso in 1987, was influential in feminist and women's studies. The book contains nine essays explaining "Beechey's proposals for a more flexible and equitable vision of employment for both women and men in the future".[4] Unequal Work is recommended as further reading in the 'Women at Work' chapter to the Macmillan Introducing Women's Studies Feminist Theory and Practice handbook, 1993,[5] and is extracted in the Women's Studies Essential Readings handbook also in 1993.[6]
Beechey co-wrote the book A Matter of Hours with Tessa Perkins. The book looked at rise of part time work in postwar Britain, and how there was a gender disparity in who was offered part time work. The book was considered a significant contribution to labour market analysis.[7]
