Women Count: The Role of Women in Economics

Women Count: The Role of Women in Economics is funded by the UCD College of Social Sciences and Law Strategic Funding Scheme. The purpose of the scheme is to support activities that promote cross-School collaborations. This project is a collaboration between Dr Rachel Farrell and Professor Judith Harford of the School of Education and Dr Orla Doyle and Dr Kevin Denny of the School of Economics.

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The rationale for this project is the underrepresentation of women in the economics profession. This phenomenon begins early in the life cycle, with only 37% percent of females taking economics as a Leaving Certificate subject. This gap persists as we move through the education system with only 37% percent of females taking economics at third level. The aim of this project is to raise awareness of this issue and encourage students of all genders to view economics in a more inclusive manner. 

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A study by May, McGarvey, and Kucera (2018) found statistically significant differences in opinions between men and women economists across a range of economic topics. This suggests that changes in the makeup of the economics profession may affect policy outcomes and influence the types of research questions that are asked. This may be particularly important in the European Union, where evidence suggests that economic knowledge in higher education is more readily transformed into policy than in the United States (Frey and Eichenberger, 1993). Therefore, to empower humanity it is important to include both men and women economists when formulating and debating economic policy. If demographic differences such as gender help to shape our views on policy questions, the inclusion of women will expand the debate and enlarge the scope of perspectives. The project also strongly aligns with sustainable development goal no 5 Gender Equity and no 17 Partnership for the goals. 

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We would like to thank the members of the Irish Society for Women in Economics (ISWE) for contributing to the videos below. We hope you enjoy watching them.