Women in Economics: Europe and the World

Abstract

Based on a data set that we collected from the top research institutions in economics around the globe (including universities, business schools and other organizations such as central banks), we document the underrepresentation of women in economics. For the 238 universities and business schools in the sample, women hold 25% of senior level positions (full professor, associate professor) and 37% of junior level positions. In the 82 U.S. universities and business schools, the figures are 20% on the senior level and 32% on the entry level, while in the 122 European institutions, the numbers are 27% and 38%, respectively, with some heterogeneity across countries. The numbers also show that the highest-ranking institutions (in terms of research output) have fewer women in senior positions. Moreover, in the U.S., this effect is even present on the junior level. The “leaky pipeline” may hence begin earlier than oftentimes assumed, and is even more of an issue in the highly integrated market of the U.S. In Europe, an institution ranked 100 places higher has three percentage points fewer women in senior positions, but in the U.S. it is almost 5 percentage points.

Keywords: academic hierarchies, Gender equality, leaky pipeline

JEL Classification: A11, J16