Inclusivity in the economics profession

In their recent overview of the diversity problem in economics, Amanda Bayer and Cecilia Rouse write that

The economics profession includes disproportionately few women and members of historically underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups, relative both to the overall population and to other academic disciplines. […] This underrepresentation within the field of economics is present at the undergraduate level, continues into the ranks of the academy, and is barely improving over time. It likely hampers the discipline, constraining the range of issues addressed and limiting our collective ability to understand familiar issues from new and innovative perspectives.

We have to do better. The resources below lay out the sobering facts and offer actionable suggestions for how economists, individually and collectively, can make our profession more diverse, more inclusive, and more hospitable for all of us.

• Knowing the issues:

  • AEA Professional Climate Survey: Final Report
  • How Can Economics Solve Its Gender Problem? (AEA webcast)
  • How Can Economics Solve Its Race Problem? (AEA webcast)

• Changing the climate:

  • Best Practices for Economists: Building a More Diverse, Inclusive, and Productive Profession
  • Guidance for a Constructive Culture of Exchange in MIT Economics Seminars
  • How You Can Work to Increase the Presence and Improve the Experience of Black, Latinx, and Native American People in the Economics Profession by Amanda Bayer, Gary Hoover, and Ebonya Washington (read Table 2 in full)

• Equalizing opportunity:

  • AEA Summer and Scholarship Programs
  • Diversifying Economics Seminars: Speakers List
  • Gender-bias calculator (for avoiding gendered language in letters of recommendation)

• Amplifying voices:

  • Women in Economics Podcast (St. Louis Fed)
  • The Sadie Collective

• Further resources:

  • Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession
  • Committee on the Status of Minority Groups in the Economics Profession
  • Amanda Bayer's webpage
  • Jennifer Doleac's webpage