Women in Economics

“We launched the center with the main objective to champion diversity in economics, both in academia and policymaking,” says Marina Azzimonti, senior economic research advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and director of its Center for Advancing Women in Economics. In this episode, learn about the center’s work to support women in economics.

“In order to be a good teacher, you need to speak the language of the person who is in front of you,” says Isabel Schnabel, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB). She discusses her work at the ECB, along with her teaching career and the difference it makes when there are two women in the room, as opposed to only one. Schnabel talks with Maria Hasenstab of the External Engagement and Corporate Communications Division at the St. Louis Fed.

“Economics does provide a very powerful tool for changing public policy,” says Heidi Hartmann, founder of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, who currently serves as a distinguished economist and resident at the Program on Gender Analysis in Economics at American University.

“We need to make sure that a broad array of perspectives are heard and especially at an institution like in the Federal Reserve System where we're working on policy questions that have such a broad impact, but also a lot of fiscal policy questions,” says Stephanie Aaronson, senior associate director of the Division of Research and Statistics at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

“Being active on social media and sharing all the research that we do is one way that I can increase my impact,” says Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin. Fairweather discusses her work at the real estate brokerage company and why she thinks more women should consider studying economics.

“I think I have community banking in my blood,” said Michelle Bowman, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Prior to her appointment to the Board, she served as the state bank commissioner of Kansas and vice president of Farmers & Drovers Bank in Kansas.

“We've all experienced the: ‘I'm the only woman in this room’ … and it's a difficult situation,” said Shelly Lundberg, professor of economics at the University of California - Santa Barbara. Lundberg joins Janice Eberly, professor of finance at Northwestern University, and Christina Romer, professor of economics at the University of California - Berkeley, as they discuss their leadership roles serving for the American Economic Association.

“The scale at which you can impact public policy at the Fed is really both inspiring and exciting, and it's a big responsibility, too,” says Anna Paulson, executive vice president, director of research and executive committee member at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. She talks with Andrea Caceres-Santamaria, senior economic education specialist at the St. Louis Fed.

“I like to be enabling, but have all students follow their own passions,” says Claudia Goldin, the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University and co-director of the Gender in the Economy Study Group at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

“We're here to serve the public, and I think it's really important that in doing that we represent the society that we serve, all different dimensions of society,” says Sharon Donnery, the first woman appointed deputy governor of the Central Bank of Ireland.

“I actually decided to study economics before I even got to undergrad,” says Hannah Rubinton, economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. She talks with Laura Girresch, manager of media relations, about her research on business dynamism and what it was like to have children during her Ph.D. studies at Princeton University.

“I do think very passionately that economics is a great gig,” says Ellen McGrattan, professor of economics at the University of Minnesota. She discusses economics with three of her former students: Kathleen McKiernan, assistant professor at Vanderbilt University; Emily Moschini, assistant professor at the College of William and Mary; and Ming Xu, assistant professor at Queens University.

“We learned something about how to evaluate criminal justice policy,” says Amanda Michaud, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. She talks about her research on how criminal justice policy may affect employment among men of prime working age.

“The National Economic Association and its members have done a lot of really important work within the profession, work that is often unheralded,” says Nina Banks, president of the NEA and associate professor at Bucknell University. She talks about her new book and research on community activism by marginalized women.

“Economics, certainly, is about the data and the numbers side of things. But it’s also about the stories and the people that are behind those numbers and how we tell those stories,” says Julie Bennett, research associate at the St. Louis Fed. She is joined by fellow research associates Praew Grittayaphong and Maggie Isaacson as they discuss research and working in economics.

“There are so few Black female economists, and I guess … I feel like my perspective is quite different from many white male and female economists that I’ve seen,” says Kristen Broady, a fellow at the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program and professor of financial economics at Dillard University.

“I have become a much better economist because I have been exposed to a lot of different perspectives,” says Catherine Mann, global chief economist at Citibank from 2018 to 2021. She discusses the influence of her mentors, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

“The most exciting part of doing research is having that research have an impact,” says Brigitte Madrian, the dean and Marriott Distinguished Professor in the Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business.

“The institute, as a new entity, really has an amazing opportunity to model for the economics profession what an inclusive, scholarly environment looks like,” says Abigail Wozniak, director of the Opportunity & Inclusive Growth Institute at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

“Having it all is not having it all at once,” says Nancy Rose, the Charles P. Kindleberger professor of applied economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She discusses how her interest in public policy led to a career in economics, and how she handles “life-work tension.”