The Wannabe Economist- Women's Day Edition

As an economist (or a Wannabe Economist as I would like to call myself), I have read way too many articles on the need to bridge gender-based inequalities and their economic implications. But did you know that the field that talks about economic inequalities is in itself skewed in terms of gender representation?

Globally, women are under-represented in the field of economics. They occupy fewer leadership positions at leading economics institutions than men and are more likely to leave the profession early.

Gita Gopinath is the first woman chief economist of the IMF. Not a single woman economist has been the president of the World Bank. And if we would like to take a closer look at our own home, India hasn't had a single woman chief economic advisor since its independence.

Harvard professor Claudia Goldin became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics. Her win not only validated her remarkable career but also served as a stark reminder of how male-dominated the field of economics still is. Since women began to enter this industry in large numbers in the early 1970s, they have encountered harassment, discrimination, and discouragement. Currently, women make up less than 25% of tenured economics professors.

This also highlights a?lengthy history of women who have shaped the industry, frequently in silence and without due credit. Women have contributed ideas and studies that have been significant in the development of the work of some of the most well-known men in economics. In other instances, their marginal status within the industry allowed them to observe details that their male peers would have missed.

The most famous example is that of Milton Friedman and his work as an economist which was not his alone but rather had significant contributions of a lot of women economists who were never mentioned or recognised. The most well-known work by Friedman is the 1963 book "A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960," which examined the Great Depression as a monetary crisis rather than a demand crisis. This groundbreaking conclusion is still generally acknowledged fifty years later and is probably responsible for averting a repeat of a disaster of the same scale. The National Bureau of Economic Research economist Anna Jacobson Schwartz co-wrote the book with Mr. Friedman, although her input has frequently been minimised. She was left out of Mr. Friedman's Nobel announcement, which gave the impression that he was the only author of the book. Additionally, she didn't receive her doctorate from Columbia until after the book was released, and that too after Friedman created pressure on male faculty members to recognise Ms. Schwartz's work for his book. Ms. Schwartz conducted the study and gathered the information necessary for the analysis and writing of the book over 12 years.

Rose Friedman was equally instrumental in raising her husband's profile in the public eye. She created the text for her husband's best-selling 1962 book, "Capitalism and Freedom," which introduced his ideas to a wider readership, drawing on his lectures, publications, and rough notes. She also contributed to every facet of the "Free to Choose" television series, co-writing the book that went along with it.

Both Alfred Marshall and John Stuart Mill had accomplished spouses who supported them in their careers. Mary Paley, Marshall's wife was also a political economy expert who was thought to have contributed significantly to Marshall's work but she hardly finds any mention in most of his works. Harriet Taylor Mill, Stuart Mill's wife was a philosopher and a woman's rights advocate whose work did find some limited ground or recognition in Mill's writings. Marion Crawford, an economist herself, was Paul Samuelson's first wife who again made significant contributions to his work. She provided support for her husband's early scientific efforts in defining and resolving fundamental theoretical economics problems through the use of mathematics. Dr. Samuelson stated that he was able to receive the prize because of his wife's early research efforts. However, in 1946, she retired when she gave birth to her first child.

Even if the tale of women in economics can be depressing, there is optimism to be found in it. What if these women received equal treatment after being relegated to the periphery of the profession for so long? If their achievements were properly recognised and honoured, just think of the advantages that would accrue to both the field and the wider community. The realisation by Ms. Goldin and Esther Duflo suggests that things might be changing for the better, which will benefit us all.

That being said, here's hoping for a better and equitable future for all women economists who constantly advocate for equality across all walks of life.