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Getting from Diversity to Inclusion in Economics
Report

Getting from Diversity to Inclusion in Economics

FRBSF, 2018

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Hot Topic
  • Insider's Take

Recommendation

If you were to listen closely to a meeting of economists, you’d likely hear men dominating the conversation. Veteran economist Mary C. Daly describes how male members of her profession often seem amazed when she makes a major presentation and posits that some of that reaction occurs because she is a woman. According to Daly, leaders in the field of economics need to consciously promote gender and minority inclusion. getAbstract recommends this eye-opening article to anyone interested in increasing female representation and participation in the field of economics.

Summary

Many commentators address the need for diversity and inclusion in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) areas that compete with economics for the best minds. But economists rarely discuss the topic of including women and minorities. Such change is long overdue. In 1997, women earned 28% of the doctoral degrees in the field, and minorities earned 7%. Both numbers have barely budged over two decades; today, they stand at 31% for women and 8% for minorities. But from 1997 to 2016, the percentage of STEM doctorates held by women shot up from 42% to north of 55%. A 2017 study of...

About the Author

Mary C. Daly is the director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.