Earlier this week, I spoke with Australian Women in Economics Network (WEN) chair Dr Leonora Risse, of RMIT and formerly of Harvard’s Women and Public Policy program, about how WEN is promoting greater gender diversity in the economics profession. Leonora’s hypothesis, which we discuss in Episode 124 of my Economics Explored podcast, is that greater gender diversity will lead to a greater breadth and higher quality of economic research and analysis and better policy advice. Is this a legitimate assertion, or is the field of gender economics simply “self-serving identity politics” as some critics have alleged? Leonora and I have a frank and fearless discussion of the relevant issues in this episode.

Here’s a video clip of an excerpt of our conversation on the issue of whether there’s still a “boys club” in some businesses and organisations.

Please listen to the full conversation for my response to Leonora’s points in this clip and for more great conversation on gender issues in economics.

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