Empowering Women Economists at the American Economic Association Through the Development of the Publication Job Openings for Economists

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the late 1960s, the American Economic Association (AEA) began to address the concerns of the marginalized in the profession with the publication of Job Openings for Economists. Women economists, empowered by the mass women's liberation movement at the time, formed a committee within the AEA to press for equal opportunity and greater access to the job market. This committee focused their early efforts on reforming the labor market with one of the key activities being the creation of a job vacancy publication. The consequence of having a job vacancy publication was the establishment of a path whereby newly trained women economists were made aware of opportunities and the existing informal hiring system was gradually relied upon less. Women economists played an important role in the establishment, legitimization, and broader acceptance of a job vacancy publication that helped to further empower women and other marginalized economists. HIGHLIGHTS Women pursued equal opportunity in economics via reforms to employment-search practices. Published vacancies achieved a greater representation of women in the labor market by formalizing aspects of the labor market. The publication of job vacancies was only a first step to creating an inclusive environment for women. Not all marginalized groups saw their path to acceptance within economics paved by labor market reform.