'Erudite ambitious and richly global in scope' - PETER FRANKOPAN author of The Silk Roads
'This book sets a new standard in economic history' - TIM HARFORD author of How To Make the
World Add Up THE UNTOLD STORY OF HOW WOMEN MADE THE WORLD WEALTHY Humanity's journey from
poverty to prosperity is filled with men who have become household names. But how many female
entrepreneurs merchants and industrialists can you name? Economica places women at the
centre of the story of economic growth. Starting in the Stone Age and continuing to the present
day it takes the reader through the key economic milestones of the past twelve millennia -
from the birth of farming to the advent of computing - all told through the experiences of
women as well as men. Historian Victoria Bateman weaves a thrilling globe-spanning narrative
that proves women weren't 'missing' from economic life they were merely hidden from view. We
discover the female workers who helped to build the Great Pyramid of Giza and to plumb the
city of ancient Rome the silk weavers who made a vital contribution to the development of the
Silk Road and global trade the women who dominated London's brewing trade during medieval
times and the brave twentieth-century pioneers who fought to make our economies not just
richer but fairer. Economica rewrites our understanding of women's role in the economy and
tells a more accurate economic history of us all. 'Victoria Bateman's revelatory and
compelling new book puts women at the very heart of mankind's economic history. Economica
should help ensure that's where they will remain' - BEN CHU BBC 'A must-read for anyone
interested in women's history and economic justice' - AMANDA FOREMAN author of Georgiana and A
World on Fire
