Graduate Women in Economics

I am president & founder of Graduate Women in Economics at the Ohio State University.

The AEA climate survey on discrimination results have made it clear that academia is not the paragon of equality that we all hoped it would be. At least not yet. Therefore, in order to supplement programs such as CSWEP which help female junior faculty members on their track to achieving tenure, many universities have begun to create their own programs to better assist their graduate women as well.

At the Ohio State University, our group of Graduate Women in Economics has members from multiple departments which include economics, agricultural and developmental economics, and consumer science. Our activities center around helping our members be effective researchers as well as making them feel connected to other women conducting research in economics. The hope is that this both intellectual as well as emotional support will make it more likely for women to complete the Ph.D and continue towards the coveted tenure track and bring about greater diversity in economics faculty.

And although this began as a project to better help other women, I would be remiss to omit how much this has added to my life personally. I am surrounded by intelligent, kind, powerful women every day, and I feel honored to be able to provide them guidance and support; I have never felt so connected to my peers. It turns out that the best way to receive support is to offer it first.

I encourage you to learn more about our organization at our site http://org.osu.edu/graduate-women-in-economics/