Women in The Workforce: The Studies of Nobel Laureate, Claudia Goldin
Women's participation in the labor market and – above all – the differences in participation and pay over more than two centuries are at the heart of the studies that led to the awarding of the 2023 Economics Nobel Prize to the American scholar Claudia Goldin of Harvard University, the third woman to ever receive it.
"The scholar," reads the explanatory statement, "showed that women's participation in the labor market did not have an upward trend over the entire period, but instead formed a U-shaped curve.... Understanding the role of women in the workforce is important for society. Thanks to Claudia Goldin's innovative research, we now know much more about the underlying factors and what obstacles may need to be faced in the future."
"Claudia Goldin is a stellar scholar in economics and an exceptional inspiration for women researchers in all social sciences. As a pioneer of a new concept of gender economics, with her work she has placed Gender at the center of research in economics", says Paola Profeta, full professor and Dean for Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability at Bocconi University. "She has applied her innovative approach and content to the study of labor market participation of women, the sources of gender gaps, its historical determinants and our understanding of why gender gaps are still a real phenomenon. Claudia Goldin's contribution is extraordinary and unique. We celebrate the recognition of advances in research on women in the labor market, which is at the center of research at Bocconi thanks to the Axa Research Lab on Gender Equality".
"I had the privilege of working under Professor Goldin's supervision when I was undertaking my Fulbright-Schuman Scholarship at Harvard's Department of Economics in 2016/2017" says Eleanor Woodhouse, Lecturer in Public Policy and Director of the MSc in Public Policy at Department of Political Science, UCL, and Bocconi Alumna. "Claudia's dedication to her students was immediately apparent; she was always happy to spend time discussing both the big ideas and the minutiae of your research design or estimation strategy. In my experience, she shared her wealth of knowledge with her students with generosity, kindness, and curiosity. Huge and richly deserved congratulations, Claudia!"
Born on 14 May 1946, Claudia Goldin teaches economics at Harvard University-the first woman to hold this position at the prestigious American university. She is also co-director of the Gender in the Economy Study Group of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and was previously director of the NBER's Development of the American Economy program from 1989 to 2017.