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Women in Economics panels explore gender equality in academia and the workplace
This May, Master's students at the Barcelona School of Economics could attend two panel discussions on gender equality in academic and professional careers. The panels were organized and run by the Women in Economics (WiE) Initiative in cooperation with the Initiative for Women Empowerment in Economics and BSE Career Services.
Several students and alumni as well as two professors from the Master's participated on the panels, which were held via video conferencing because of the ongoing coronavirus lockdowns. Both events were open to the public. The panel on women in academia drew a total of 154 participants from 34 institutions, and the panel on the workplace drew 120 participants from 26 institutions. Around 30 BSE students attending each of the sessions.
Panel on Gender Equality in the Workplace
Summary
Despite the economic, organizational, and societal benefits associated with more gender diverse environments, inclusion remains a challenge for institutions and corporations internationally. In this online panel discussion, BSE alumni spoke about their professional experiences of gender inequality and their views on why many workplaces still have such uninspired responses.
Speakers:
- Carola Ebert '16 (Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets), Manager at BearingPoint
- Hannah Pfarr '16 (Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets), Supervision Analyst at European Central Bank (ECB)
- Silvia Albrizio '09 (Economics), Economist at Banco de España
- Tessy Vasquez '11 (Economics), Technical Coordinator for the Financial Stability and Development Network at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
The moderator of this panel was WiE member and current Master's student Diana Loayza '20 (Economics of Public Policy).
Panel on Gender Equality in Academia
Summary
Faculties of economics are often cited as low-diversity environments exhibiting gender-based discrimination. The panelists in this session were two BSE Affiliated Professors and two alumni now pursuing their PhDs, who shared how they experience gender inclusion and what they view as necessary to improve gender diversity.
Speakers:
- Professor Christian Brownlees: Associate Professor at UPF and BSE
- Claudia Meza '18 (Economics): PhD student at GPEFM (UPF and BSE)
- Professor Libertad González: Associate Professor at UPF and BSE
- Marta Morazzoni '18 (Economics): PhD student at GPEFM (UPF and BSE)
This panel was moderated by WiE Chief Editor and Senior Economist at PwC Public Sector Practice, Iakov Frizis '18 (Economics).
Couldn’t imagine a more informative lunchbreak :) many thanks to the speakers for sharing all this insights! @Women_in_Econ #WiEcare pic.twitter.com/UalbsamyX9
— Larissa Fuchs (@lari_fuchs) May 14, 2020
Live Q&A brings students into the discussion
Students could submit questions throughout the online sessions, which the panelists answered at the conclusion of the discussion. Their questions covered topics such as:
- How do we (or should we) encourage men to adopt typically more 'feminine' working strategies and traits e.g. agreeableness?
- What about social backlash women face when they behave in an agentic as opposed to communal way?
- Now that there is talk about increasing the share of women in the workplace, what do you say to people who say "she only got in because she is a woman"?
- How can we use the current situation due to Covid-19 to speed up the change of social norms about who is responsible for childcare/housework?
Previous #WomenInEconomics activities in the BSE community
Master's students organize Women in Economics Seminar 2019