Professor Ailsa McKay was a leading Scottish feminist economist, renowned for her dedication to challenging and evidencing the impact of economic policies on women. Born on May 25, 1963 (or June 7, 1963 in a separate source), she died on March 5, 2014, at the age of 50.
Academic and Professional Career
Ailsa McKay graduated from the University of Stirling with a 1st class BA Hons, and earned her PhD from the University of Nottingham. Her doctoral thesis was entitled: “Arguing for a Citizens Basic Income: A Contribution From a Feminist Economics Perspective.”
She joined Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) as a lecturer in 1991, where she spent the rest of her career. She rose through the ranks, becoming Professor of Economics, Head of the Department of Economics and International Business, and Vice Dean of the University’s Business School.
At GCU, she played a pivotal role in changing the university’s culture to enhance the prospects of promotion for female academics and served as a role model and mentor to younger female colleagues. She founded and led the Women in Scotland’s Economy (WiSE) Research Centre at the university.
Her research interests focused on the economics of the welfare state, the reform of current social security measures, women, work and income, and the economics of gender inequality.
Contributions to Feminist Economics and Public Policy
Professor McKay was a key figure in applying feminist economics to public policy, notably through her expertise in gender budgeting and as a leading proponent of Universal Basic Income (UBI).
- Gender Budgeting: She was instrumental in the Scottish Government’s adoption of an Equality Budget statement in 2009. She was a founding member of the Scottish Women’s Budget Group (SWBG), which started around her kitchen table, and the European Gender Budgets Network. She served as a Budget Adviser to the Equal Opportunities Committee of the Scottish Parliament and had a profound impact on the work of the Scottish Government in budgetary matters.
- Universal Basic Income: McKay was an early and noted proponent of the Citizens’ Basic Income (CBI) concept from a feminist and gender equality perspective. She argued that the CBI model could be a tool for promoting gender-neutral social citizenship rights and that social policy reform should consider all gender inequalities, not just those related to the traditional labour market. Her 2005 book, The Future of Social Security Policy: Women, Work and a Citizen’s Basic Income, provided a feminist critique of the traditional neoclassical economic framework for social security.
- Childcare: She was key in providing the economic case for underpinning the Scottish Government’s proposals for free, universal childcare.
Influence and Legacy
Professor McKay’s work was recognized internationally, serving as a policy advisor to the United Nations and governments in Ireland, Turkey, and Canada, as well as holding visiting academic positions in Madrid and Australia. She was a long-standing friend and supporter of the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) and worked in partnership with the Women’s Committee. She was also a noted supporter of Scottish independence.
She was described by her peers as a talented, influential, and generous individual with a “generosity of spirit” toward other academics and an ability to foster a “funny, cathartic and witty posture.” Her friend and co-editor, Marilyn Waring, described her as having had a “profound effect on my life.”
She is survived by her partner, Jim, and her children, Annie and Rory. Her legacy is sustained through the continuing work of the WiSE Research Centre and the founding of the Ailsa McKay Fellowship and Ailsa McKay Lecture in her honour.
