Welcoming remarks for the Women in Central Banking Workshop

Good morning.

Thank you, Mark [Wynne], for the kind introduction. And thank you all for joining us for the second Women in Central Banking Workshop.

My colleagues and I are especially pleased to co-sponsor this year’s event with the Norges Bank. The Norges Bank began this workshop last year to give women working in PhD programs an opportunity to present their research, receive feedback and network with each other as well as accomplished senior economists in central banks. We’re delighted to partner with the Norges Bank on this year’s workshop and hope this effort continues to grow.

This workshop means a lot to the Dallas Fed. We know that to accomplish our public mission, we need the best economists in the world to become central bankers. So, we are incredibly excited and proud to welcome women who will lead the next generation of economists to our bank today to share their research.

Scholarly economic research is integral to the work of central banks. Research deepens our understanding of the economy and financial system and enables policymakers to make well-informed decisions on all aspects of our mission. Here at the Dallas Fed, we recognize the value of your work and how it helps us achieve our mission of building an economy where everyone can participate and thrive. And I may be biased, but central banks can be a great place not only to do research but also to make an impact on the world with your research.

Women’s representation in economics

This workshop is important because while more women are serving in leadership positions, they remain significantly underrepresented in the field of economics as a whole. This is a global pattern and, unfortunately, a persistent one. In 2023, women received just under one-third of the PhDs granted in economics in the United States. That figure has been stagnant for a quarter century. And in subfields like macroeconomics, finance and quantitative methods, which are crucial for central banks, representation among women is even lower.

While the underrepresentation of women isn’t unique to economics, the field has made less progress than some other traditionally male-dominated areas of study. For example, from 1998 to 2018, the percentage of engineering PhDs granted to women doubled. And in fields like medicine and law, where women made up less than one-tenth of students entering professional schools in the 1960s, the percentages of men and women entering these same programs were nearly equal by the early 2000s.

The progress we’ve seen in other fields gives me hope that with the right strategies, we can move the needle in economics as well. However, I still have concerns about whether we in economics are missing out on top talent. As I said at the outset, we need the very best economists contributing to our mission. How many young women who could become great economists aren’t even entering the profession?

Women’s representation affects not only the individual talent in the profession but our ability to form high-performing teams. A rising share of economics papers have multiple authors, and I’ve heard it said that research is a team sport. That’s even more true for public policy.

Throughout my career, I have seen time and time again when we’re trying to innovate or solve complex problems, we do our best work when we bring diverse teams together. The different perspectives that team members bring—how we think, how we analyze information and what we know about the world—allow us to generate better ideas and more rapidly develop the best solutions. Increasing women’s representation will bring new and important perspectives to the table—ones that matter for public policy and especially for our work as a central bank.

Central banks are among the largest employers in the field of economics. Research from my colleague Nitzan [Tzur-Ilan] finds that although the Federal Reserve System as a whole employs more than 1,000 PhD economists, women made up only 22 percent of these economists as of 2021. Here in Dallas, women account for just 25 percent of our PhD economists. Frankly, this is an area the Dallas Fed needs to work on. A diverse workforce is key to developing the best insights so we can build an economy where everyone can participate and thrive. My leadership team and I are committed to encouraging and supporting women in the economics profession and in this bank, and today’s workshop supports that goal.

In late August, I attended the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium. I look forward every year to this event hosted by my colleagues at the Kansas City Fed. It’s a bit like summer camp for central bankers—a time to discuss economics and policy with top experts from around the world.

At the very first Jackson Hole symposium in 1982, there was not a single woman on the program and precious few among the attendees. Over time, the organizers recognized that a substantial amount of talent wasn’t making it to the event and worked to include more women on the agenda and among the attendees. Today, one of the agenda items I look forward to most is a gathering of women leaders. Former Kansas City Fed President Esther George started that part of the program, and it’s been a key step in making the conference more inclusive.

I am optimistic that with dedication and thoughtful efforts, we can bring more women into economics and central banking. From an institutional standpoint, this could include creating more diverse co-authorship networks, introducing mentorship programs, and building the pipeline in economics through efforts like the partnership we and other reserve banks have with the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession to host summer interns. We can also make a difference as individuals, by identifying opportunities for our colleagues, inviting others to share their work and perspectives, and supporting one another. The issues we’re facing are long-standing and structural in nature, but as with the women’s gathering at Jackson Hole that I mentioned earlier, even relatively small steps in the right direction can help drive lasting change. Our hope is that today’s workshop will contribute to that progress.

Conclusion

I would like to again thank Norges Bank for their partnership in developing this workshop.

This event would not be possible without the work of our organizing committee: Emilia [Garcia-Appendini], Eleonora [Granziera] and Kasper [Roszbach] of Norges Bank; and Lucie [Lebeau], Pia [Orrenius], Nitzan [Tzur-Ilan], Mark [Wynne], Fang [Yang] and Ziaoqing [Zhou] of the Dallas Fed.

I would also like to thank everyone who is presenting, our session chairs and discussants. I hope each of you is able to connect, build your networks and advance your research.

Finally, I would like to thank you for being here and for having me. Whether you are joining us today as a PhD student, as a central banker or as someone in the field, your involvement is meaningful and makes a difference for the next generation of women in central banking.