The International Economic Association’s Women in Leadership in Economics Initiative (IEA-WE) is leading a comprehensive research program to advance gender inclusivity in the economics profession across Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia. Following a competitive call for proposals, six evidence-based studies were selected from Argentina, Colombia, Ghana, India, Mexico, and South Africa, alongside eight intervention studies. Through this research, the initiative seeks to build a deeper understanding of gender disparities in economics while identifying effective strategies to promote women’s participation and leadership in the field. This research encompasses three key components: data gathering and synthesis across the three continents; qualitative cross-national survey evidence on obstacles including tracking studies; and evaluation of specific interventions to identify what works in lowering the gender gap in economics. Together, these studies create a valuable foundation for understanding gender disparities in economics while developing effective strategies to promote women’s participation and leadership in the field.
Evidence-Based Papers
We have commissioned six independent studies for the following countries: Argentina, Colombia, Ghana, India, Mexico, Senegal, and South Africa with a view to build a comprehensive data base on women in the economics profession, including subfields that might exist as separate departments, such as agricultural economics. This marks an important step forward in advancing economic knowledge and promoting gender inclusivity in the field of economics.
Examining the Situation of Women in the Economics Profession in Argentina
AUGUST 2025
AUTHOR(S) – Mariana Viollaz, Mariana Marchionni, María Edo, Florencia Pinto
The aim of this paper is to document the situation of women and the gender gaps in the economics profession across the full range of academic tiers, focused in Argentina. We conduct a comprehensive examination of the representation of women in Economics at various academic levels, from undergraduate programs to faculty and research positions. The analysis is based on several sources, including administrative national databases, administrative data coming from universities and other academic institutions, and microdata obtained from those institutions or through Web scraping. We assess gender differences in career trajectories, academic performance, access to research opportunities in the country and participation in relevant networks. By shedding light on the specific challenges faced by women in Economics in Argentina, we aim to inform policy recommendations and interventions that can promote gender equality and create a more inclusive and diverse economics profession.
Bridging the Gap: Gender Disparities in Colombia’s Economics Profession
AUGUST 2025
AUTHOR(S) – Maria del Pilar López-Uribe
This report examines gender disparities in Colombia’s economics profession using data from the National Higher Education Information System (SNIES). The study analyzes women’s representation across undergraduate through doctoral levels, graduation rates, faculty composition, leadership positions, and participation in economic associations. Key findings cover gender distribution in enrollments and graduations across public and private institutions, faculty representation including deanships, women’s involvement in professional networks, and research productivity metrics among economic researchers. This comprehensive analysis identifies critical gaps in women’s career trajectories in Colombian economics and provides evidence-based insights for developing policies to promote gender equality in the profession.
Evidence Papers on Women in Economics: A Case Study of Ghana
AUGUST 2025
AUTHOR(S) – Abena Oduro & Gloria Afful-Mensah
This study examines women’s representation in economics in Ghana across student and faculty levels. Using administrative data from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission and select universities (2012/13–2022/23), alongside faculty records from RePEc, Google Scholar, and CVs, we track enrolment, research, and leadership patterns. Findings show women’s enrolment in economics declines with higher academic tiers: female shares are higher at the undergraduate level but drop at master’s and doctoral levels, with no sustained upward trend. Women’s representation at the faculty level averages 16%, concentrated in lower ranks, with lower research productivity and impact compared to men, and limited leadership roles. The results highlight persistent gaps and call for policies to strengthen the undergraduate pipeline, support postgraduate progression, and address barriers to women’s advancement in research and leadership within economics.
Women in Indian Economics Academia
AUGUST 2025
AUTHOR(S) – Ambrish Dongre, Upasak Das & Karan Singhal
This report offers a comprehensive analysis of the gender landscape in Indian Economics academia. Drawing on manually compiled data from a variety of sources, it documents the representation and participation of women from undergraduate education to faculty positions. Despite women comprising a majority at the master’s and often at the doctoral level, their share significantly declines in faculty ranks—especially in senior positions. Better resourced and prestigious institutions show particularly low female representation. Comparisons across disciplines, although using non-representative sample of institutions suggests that women’s presence among Economics faculty is higher than STEM but lower as compared to Social Sciences overall. The report also finds gender disparities in research visibility: women are less likely to have Google Scholar profiles and show significantly lower citation metrics, especially at early career stages. While rates of conference participation, journal authorship, and professional association membership appear somewhat better, a sustained presence at levels comparable to women’s share in faculty positions is not yet evident. While the report does not directly identify underlying mechanisms, the observed patterns are consistent with persistent structural barriers and gendered expectations influencing academic trajectories—patterns that have also been documented in earlier work on India. It also calls for improved public data collection to track gender trends systematically. The findings contribute to global discussions on gender in academia, while focusing on the unique context of India.
Status of Women in Economics: Mexico
AUGUST 2025
AUTHOR(S) – Eva Olimpia Arceo-Gómez
The status of women in Economics in Mexico is unmoved. Progress has stalled at all levels. Female representation among students has varied from around 38 to 42% on average between 2010 and 2022. I found tiny declines in female representation from undergraduate to doctoral level, so there is no strong evidence of a leaky pipeline. Among researchers, 34% of the Economics researchers in the National System of Researchers are women. Female representation falls sharply for researchers as we climb the system’s ladder. At the top of the system are four male economists per woman. Women’s representation in academic production has increased over time, but for women in Mexican institutions, it has stalled, even though they are now teaching relatively less than men. Overall, Mexican women in Economics are facing stagnation in their progress toward a more balanced representation in student bodies, faculties, and academic production.
Women in Economics in South Africa
AUGUST 2025
AUTHOR(S) – Nicola Branson & Emma Whitelaw
The Women in Economics in South Africa Project aims to build an understanding of gender imbalances in the economics profession across all academic tiers in the higher education system. This research offers insights into potential barriers and biases within the higher education sector, and how they intersect with other inequalities, thus contributing evidence to inform the nation’s goals of achieving gender equality and fostering inclusive economic development. Female students represent the majority of enrolments and graduates at most qualification levels in South African public universities, but remain under-represented in PhD programs and senior academic ranks. Although the proportion of female professors has increased, the profession has not yet achieved equity, particularly among historically disadvantaged groups. Greater gender parity, particularly in academic leadership, is crucial in shaping a profession that contributes diverse perspectives and ideas to teaching, research, and discipline-wide impact. Continued progress in advancing female staff in economics will require sustained commitment, and concerted efforts to support women through the academic pipeline should therefore continue.
Intervention-Based Papers
We have commissioned eight studies on interventions that are effective and successful in lowering the gender gap in economics. The evidence will be obtained by piloting trials of new interventions or analysing the impact of existing policies.
Hernán Ruffo, Argentina
Bruna Borges, Fernanda Estevan, Kelly Santos, Brazil
Xianghong Shirley Wang, China
Camila Galindo and Julia Seither, Colombia
Rebecca Nana Yaa Ayifah and Emmanuel Ayifah, Ghana
Anahita Karandikar, India
Bharti Nandwani and Akanksha Aggarwal, India
Joana Chapa, Stanislao Maldonado, and Elvira Naranjo, Mexico
Lucia Del Carpio, Emilio Gutierrez, Adrian Rubli, Mexico
Carike Claassen, South Africa
Janine Jantjies, South Africa