Annual Women in Economics Luncheon Provides Opportunity for Support and Collaboration

On February 14, The Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics hosted the Annual Women in Economics Luncheon, open to female-identifying economics students, faculty, and staff. The luncheon convenes each year to discuss common challenges, trends, and topics in economics. Session topics for the 2024 luncheon included: 

Public Economics
Macroeconomics
IO and Theory
Development Economics
Labor Economics
Paper Inside and Out
General Research Advice: Thesis Writers
Transitioning from Classes to Research
General Research Advice: 1st and 2nd Years
What's Next: Preparing for the Private Job Market
Time to Teach
Field Work
Co-Author Roulette

While topics were not exclusively focused on gender disparity in the field, the luncheon gives students and faculty in economics a space to discuss challenges and common experiences that may arise as a result of being a woman in economics. At a 2019 event hosted by the Becker Friedman Institute, "Women in Economics: Progress and Challenges," Claudia Goldin (AM’69, PhD’72'), the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University, said of women in the field:

"There are two males for every female PhD, three males for every female assistant professor and associate professor, and six males for every female full professor. The fraction female doesn’t change much from economics undergraduate degrees until the tenure ranks. The fraction female among full professors has more than doubled, from 6 percent to 14 percent, across a 20-year period. But for undergraduates, the ratio of males to females really hasn’t budged much."

Still, women in economics continue to persevere and create change in the field. In 2023, Goldin became the third woman to receive the Nobel Prize in economics since it was first awarded in 1969 and the first solo winner. She was also among the recipients of UChicago's 2024 Alumni Awards. 

At the University of Chicago, events such as the Women in Empirical Microeconomics Conference 2024, aim to gather women in the field "to foster opportunities for future collaboration and mentorship."