Thread by @drlisadcook

Based on the #AEAClimateReport, @AEASPmsu alum @itsafronomics and I wrote about issues facing Black women in economics and current & potential efforts to address them (nyti.ms/2oGMYxm). Hope all will read the op-ed & climate study: aeaweb.org/resources/memb…. 1/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics For context, African Americans receive a smaller share of economics degrees than STEM degrees at every level. For 2017,

Economics
BA: 5.3%
MA: 5.6%
PhD: 3.2%

STEM
BA: 6.5%
MA: 7.8%
PhD: 4.3%

The full 2018 @AEACSMGEP report is here: aeaweb.org/content/file?i…. 2/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP Black representation in economics has declined since 1995, going from 6.4% of all economics degrees to
to 5.3% in 2017. (2018 @AEACSMGEP Report) 3/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP Black women receive 0.6% of all econ PhD’s.

The share of Black women majoring in economics has declined since 2006. @RhondaVSharpe’s research shows that Black women econ majors⬆️ by 1% to (5,091 to 5,138). The # of Black men econ majors⬆️ by 44% (6,247 to 9,004). 4/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe Why is this happening? The #AEAClimateStudy offers some clues about the climate Black women experience and signals Black women receive at all levels, whether in academia, government, industry, or non-profits. 5/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe According to the #AEAClimateSurvey, 62% of Black women report experiencing racial or gender discrimination or both, compared to
50% of white women,
44% of Asian women, and
58% of Latinas. 6/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe According to the #AEAClimateSurvey, 29% and 38% of Black women report experiencing discrimination in promotion & pay, compared to 26% and 36% for whites, 28% and 36% for Asians, and 32% and 40% for Latinas. 7/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe According to the #AEAClimateSurvey, Black women, compared to *all* other groups, take the most measures to avoid possible harassment, discrimination, or unfair disrespectful treatment. 8/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe And it's not just in the #AEAClimateSurvey. A recent @IWPResearch study based on a survey of women of color in economics and sociology reports similar findings: iwpr.org/publications/r…. 9/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch Responses to open-ended questions in the #AEAClimateSurvey turn the unidimensional data into multidimensional experiences of real people who are Black women. 10/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch Quote from #AEAClimateReport: “As a black & female lecturer, … I believe my student/course evaluations would be higher if I were white &/or male. The majority of my students are white… & some … still… have a problem in seeing a Black woman as an expert/authority figure.” 11/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch Another quote from the #AEAClimateReport (unfortunately) became the op-ed's title:

“I would not recommend my own (black) children to go into this field. It was a mistake for me to choose this field. Had I known that it would be so toxic, I would not have…”

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @itsafronomics and I are both optimists and are grateful to the #AEA for doing the survey and writing the report. The report is tough to read, but we are hopeful.

What to do? We propose addressing supply and demand -- the pipeline and the climate in the economics profession.

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch We are both working on the pipeline. @itsafronomics co-founded the @SadieCollective, founded to better inform young Black women about careers in economics & economics-related fields. Many @AEASPmsu alumnae are involved, including @TheFantaTraore, @iKaylaaaa & @love_sayooo. 14/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo I'm Director of @AEASPmsu, working with @DrCMoser & @ToniDM. With our @MSUEconomics faculty colleagues, we're excited to introduce econ as a field & prepare students to do grad study in econ each summer. I'm also an #AEAPipline (grad students) & #DITE mentor (jr faculty). 15/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo @DrCMoser @ToniDM @MSUEconomics There are many other existing efforts through #AEA, and many others are planned, including circulating "best practices," creating a code of professional conduct, creating & staffing the role of ombudsperson, etc. Read about them here: aeaweb.org/news/member-an…. 16/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo @DrCMoser @ToniDM @MSUEconomics The @AEASPmsu has many great partners, including @NSF, @federalreserve, @BostonFed, @NEAEcon, @PhDEI_Econ, @umichECON, as well as pre-doc/RA programs @StanfordGSB, @Harvard, @JPAL, @BrookingsEcon, etc. 17/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo @DrCMoser @ToniDM @MSUEconomics @NSF @federalreserve @BostonFed @NEAEcon @PhDEI_Econ @umichECON @StanfordGSB @Harvard @JPAL @BrookingsEcon On climate, there's a lot to do. But it's not insurmountable. @itsafronomics and I offer a few practical suggestions colleagues, individual departments, deans, and provosts & their counterparts in think tanks, industry, and non-profits can undertake now to improve climate. 18/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo @DrCMoser @ToniDM @MSUEconomics @NSF @federalreserve @BostonFed @NEAEcon @PhDEI_Econ @umichECON @StanfordGSB @Harvard @JPAL @BrookingsEcon Student evaluations contain elements of gender & racial bias. 17 professional org's recently agreed to seek fairer, alternative measures of teaching effectiveness: asanet.org/press-center/p…. The #AEA should sign on to this, and econ departments should, too, and replace them. 19/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo @DrCMoser @ToniDM @MSUEconomics @NSF @federalreserve @BostonFed @NEAEcon @PhDEI_Econ @umichECON @StanfordGSB @Harvard @JPAL @BrookingsEcon Promotion issues. @tressiemcphd: "There are few quicker ways to antagonize an academic unit than to ask, as a black woman, 'what is the clearest path for me to full professor?' When someone will give you money before they give you status, you know what the status is worth." 20/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo @DrCMoser @ToniDM @MSUEconomics @NSF @federalreserve @BostonFed @NEAEcon @PhDEI_Econ @umichECON @StanfordGSB @Harvard @JPAL @BrookingsEcon @tressiemcphd Here's the article @tressiemcphd was commenting on: chronicle.com/article/Becomi…. 21/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo @DrCMoser @ToniDM @MSUEconomics @NSF @federalreserve @BostonFed @NEAEcon @PhDEI_Econ @umichECON @StanfordGSB @Harvard @JPAL @BrookingsEcon @tressiemcphd This is hiring, conference-invitation, and seminar-invitation season. Are there invitations to Black women? What is the composition of hiring committees? Where are the Black women in the process, generally? 22/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo @DrCMoser @ToniDM @MSUEconomics @NSF @federalreserve @BostonFed @NEAEcon @PhDEI_Econ @umichECON @StanfordGSB @Harvard @JPAL @BrookingsEcon @tressiemcphd More from #AEAClimateSurvey responses.
“How will the lack of diversity and inclusion in this fundamental system [citations, pubs] in economics allow for greater diversity and inclusion in Nobel, John Bates Clark, and other awards with such a structural flaw in the system?” 23/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo @DrCMoser @ToniDM @MSUEconomics @NSF @federalreserve @BostonFed @NEAEcon @PhDEI_Econ @umichECON @StanfordGSB @Harvard @JPAL @BrookingsEcon @tressiemcphd Others are tweeting about the experiences related to and growing literature on racial & gender bias in citations and publication lags, etc. How can we face young or any Black women and say, "You can aspire to progress in and reach the highest heights of the economics field?" 24/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo @DrCMoser @ToniDM @MSUEconomics @NSF @federalreserve @BostonFed @NEAEcon @PhDEI_Econ @umichECON @StanfordGSB @Harvard @JPAL @BrookingsEcon @tressiemcphd Not in the op-ed or #AEAClimateReport, but I hope the candid and informative suggestions, resources & support, plus the kindness, on #EconTwitter will be replicated elsewhere. Also hope it & #AEA's EconSpark will replace the cesspool-website-whose-name-shall-not-be-called. 25/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo @DrCMoser @ToniDM @MSUEconomics @NSF @federalreserve @BostonFed @NEAEcon @PhDEI_Econ @umichECON @StanfordGSB @Harvard @JPAL @BrookingsEcon @tressiemcphd We agree with former Fed Chair Janet Yellen when she said, "Women and men have significantly different approaches and views on public policy issues, ... which means that women’s voices and those of minorities need to be heard.”

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics @AEACSMGEP @RhondaVSharpe @IWPResearch @SadieCollective @TheFantaTraore @iKaylaaaa @love_sayooo @DrCMoser @ToniDM @MSUEconomics @NSF @federalreserve @BostonFed @NEAEcon @PhDEI_Econ @umichECON @StanfordGSB @Harvard @JPAL @BrookingsEcon @tressiemcphd The #AEAClimateReport is a start in acknowledging the issues Black women face in the economics profession. @itsafronomics & I can do our part, but change is up to each of us.

Black women, don't leave economics. We're here & have your backs, and many others do and will, too. 27/N

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics unroll

@AEASPmsu @itsafronomics unroll @threadreaderapp