For Women in Economics, the Hostility Is Out in the Open
Studies have found that the field is plagued by a singular problem of gender bias. The latest evidence comes from the types of questions posed at seminars. SIGN UP ON AMAZON WEDDING LIST NOW A few years ago, the economists Alicia Sasser Modestino and Justin Wolfers sat at the back of a professional conference and watched Rebecca Diamond, a rising star in their field, present her latest research on inequality. Or at least she was meant to present it — moments after she began her talk, the audience began peppering her with questions. “She must have gotten 15 questions in the first five minutes, including, ‘Are you going to show us the data?’” Dr. Modestino recalled. It was an odd, even demeaning question — the session was in the data-heavy field of applied microeconomics. of course she was going to show her data. SIGN UP ON AMAZON WEDDING LIST NOW Later that morning, Dr. Modestino and Dr. Wolfers watched as another prominent economist, Arindrajit Dube, presented a paper on th...