Irish Mensa Lecture & Discussion: How Women Made the Global Economy

Each month we watch a pre-recorded lecture from Gresham College and follow up with a discussion inspired by what we just learned. This month's topic is "How Women Made the Global Economy."

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Economic history has been written by men, for men and about men, giving the impression that – until recently – the economy was "just for men". This lecture rescues from obscurity the many female producers, bankers, and economic revolutionaries who, over the course of human history, have transformed our economic fortunes. It reveals how as women's economic opportunities have ebbed and flowed, so too have the fortunes of nations, providing a fresh perspective on the "rise and fall" of civilizations and illuminating our own prospects for the future.

Our Speaker:
Dr. Victoria Bateman is an economic historian and author of books including Economica: A Global History of Women, Wealth and Power (Headline Press, August 2025), Naked Feminism: Breaking the Cult of Female Modesty (Polity, 2023) and The Sex Factor: How Women Made the West Rich (Polity, 2019). She has twenty years' experience teaching economics and economic history at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts.

Dr. Bateman was resident economic historian for BBC Radio 4's "Understand: the Economy" and has written for Bloomberg, Times Higher Education, The Guardian, CapX and The Telegraph, offering longer-form perspectives on history and the economy. In addition to her writing, Victoria works behind the scenes as a historical consultant for period dramas.

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This is a FREE virtual event, with no need to register in advance. Just click on the Zoom link when it is time to join the meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://tinyurl.com/3rrfjr9s
Meeting ID: 816 2962 6166
Passcode: 850078

The lecture will take place at 7 p.m., Irish time. Consider using this time zone converter for your local equivalent: https://tinyurl.com/3ndyz2xk.

For more information, contact Mary Reilly at mary@craftcottage.ie.