Almost Half of Female U.S. Economists Report Sex Discrimination

(Bloomberg) -- Almost half of female economists have experienced gender discrimination, according to an American Economic Association survey that also included hundreds of reports of assault and harassment.

Forty-eight percent of women reported unfair discrimination based on sex and 22 percent experienced bias for their marital status or caregiving responsibilities, according to the professional climate survey released Monday of more than 9,000 current and former members from November to February.

Assaults by other economists or students were reported by 85 members while 179 said they experienced attempted assaults and 405 encountered unwanted attention from peers.

The survey, which was sent to more than 45,000 current and former members, also documented racial and ethnic discrimination. Among black respondents, 27 percent said they were discriminated against in promotion decisions and 23 percent saw bias in teaching assignments. More than a third said they were treated unfairly with compensation.

“Many members of the profession have suffered harassment and discrimination during their careers, including both overt acts of abuse and more subtle forms of marginalization. This is unacceptable,” AEA President Ben Bernanke, President-elect Janet Yellen and past President Olivier Blanchard wrote in a letter to members released with the survey results.

‘Likewise Essential'

“It's important to weed out harassment and discrimination but it's likewise essential to take action to widen the pipeline of women and minorities entering the field and to help those already in the field to advance professionally,” they wrote.

AEA leaders take the issues “extremely seriously” and will expand on steps last year, which included adopting a code of conduct and creating a discussion forum, by appointing an ombudsperson to record complaints of harassment or discrimination, according to the letter.

The group also will approve a formal vetting process to ensure executive committee members and others such as journal editors and honor recipients haven't violated the code.

The results follow the organization's annual meeting in January, which included a high-profile panel discussion featuring former Federal Reserve Chair Yellen and other prominent female economists discussing solutions such as professional sanctions for academics with a known history of past misconduct. “We need to think about how that could be done,” Yellen said at the gathering of thousands of economists in Atlanta.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Kearns in Washington at jkearns3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Alister Bull, Randall Woods

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