Discover 6 opportunities in gender inequality

The famous 2023 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, colloquially known as the Nobel Prize in Economics, has been awarded to a Harvard University economist this year: Dr. Claudia Goldin. The prize – worth 11 million Swedish crowns, or about $1 million or roughly €949.000 – was awarded to her by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences “for having advanced our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes…Her research reveals the causes of change, as well as the main sources of the remaining gender gap.”1

In recent times, debates on gender inequality among researchers at universities have emerged, in particular in economics. Even though leading academic societies have addressed these issues already for many years – for example, the American Economic Association has run the “Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession” (CSWEP) since 1971, and the European Economic Association established its “Standing Committee on Women in Economics” (WinE) in 2003 – they appear to be persistent.

We have previously written about the gender pay gap and the leaky pipeline in economics. This article highlights other gender-related issues within the field, particularly around gender-based harassment and discrimination in economics.

The 2022 INOMICS Salary Report allowed us to examine the field of economics across employer types, job positions, and regions. This article continues with our look at gender (in)equality in economics by examining the glass ceiling. Below, we examine this effect in academia (economists employed by universities) and industry (other employer types).

In late 2022, the field of economics came under additional scrutiny for its unequal treatment of women. This article will examine the relative share of women in the field of economics, complementing the analysis of our survey data in the INOMICS Salary Report. This is helpful context for other discussions of gender discrimination in economics, as many statistics can be better understood after learning about the distribution of men and women in economics.

That gaps exist in economists’ pay and career attainment due to gender discrimination is not news. This article will discuss the findings of the 2022 INOMICS Salary Report as they relate to the gender pay gap in economics. Unless stated otherwise, the facts and figures in this article are taken from our 2022 survey data. INOMICS has previously published reports on the gender pay gap, but this is our deepest dive into the topic yet.