GDP Per Capita: The United States, Mexico, Afghanistan, and Australia

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Infographic Created by Jennifer McKenney at easel.ly.com

The data for GDP shows a much higher rate per capita for westernized, developed nations than for less developed nations. However, according to Domosh and Seager, in "Putting Women in Place: Feminist Geographers Make Sense of the World," statistics on GDP are not entirely inclusive of all forms of labor and production (2001:42-44). For example, work commonly done by women, such as reproductive labor (the labor required to raise another human being from birth to adulthood), is not factored into economic data collected by most nations, and international organizations such as the World Bank, United Nations, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Domosh and Seager 2001:41-44).

The unpaid work of women in less developed nations can include activities such as carrying water long distances, growing and raising food, selling food at the market, and caring for children (Domosh and Seager 2001:42-44). In westernized nations such as the US, this unacknowledged segment of the economy includes household chores, raising children, and preparing meals (Domosh and Seager 2001:42-43). If a woman is being paid to perform these chores for another family's household, her work is included in the economic tallies for paid work, but when performing these tasks for her own family it is considered unpaid labor, and she is not considered an active, productive participant in the economy (Domosh and Seager 2001:43).

Works Cited

About.com: What is GDP
http://useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/p/GDP.html

CIA Factbook
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html 

Domosh and Seager (2001) "Women at Work" Putting Women in Place: Feminist Geographers Make Sense of the World. New York: The Guilford Press.