Bangladeshi high school students voice their concern by asking questions about the subject's value, as well as why women in the field of economics earn less than men and how this can be addressed. These students want to be able to succeed in the future, thus they're showing interest in learning more about the potential of economics as a field.
As a woman studying economics, I often find myself in the middle of discussions on gender equality. That is on the one hand because for economists and the economy, gender equality is a very relevant topic with respect to labour markets or economic growth. On the other hand, as a woman in economics, I am myself part of a field that is highly gendered imbalanced and where women are notoriously underrepresented.
Most often the discourse around being a woman in economics is about the pitfalls. It is about the struggles of being the only woman in the room, figuring out how to raise our voice, battling imposter syndrome, navigating hostile environments, finding a balance of work and family; to name just a few. Yet despite all this, many of us are still appreciative to have found our way to economics. Within the Writing and Editing Team at the Women in Economics Initiative, we are all grateful to be in economics. In the midst of the frequent negative discussions, four of us want to share our anecdotes of why economics.
Throughout the summer of 2021, there were several events which made the impacts and uncertainty of climate change feel pretty certain. Extreme weather such as unprecedented heatwaves across the US and disastrous flooding in both western Germany and China, led to lives lost, businesses shut down, and economic life put on pause. Likewise, the IPCC report released in August 2021 painted a stark picture; climate warming and its consequences are unavoidable. But first, to fight the consequences of climate change, we must acknowledge the role between economics and environmental degradation, and specifically its connection to women in economic life and the economics profession.
For every man who works full-time, there is a woman who does not because of the many obstacles women face in the workplace. Longstanding cultural norms and workplace expectations have…
The Women in Economics Index 2019 is the first edition of the WiE Index and captures the representation of women economists in leadership positions across the academic, business and public…