THE CHALLENGE:
Created by Claudia Goldin, a Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University, the primary purpose of the challenge is to raise awareness of the underrepresentation of undergraduate women in economics. Beyond that, it is an experiment to test the effectiveness of a deliberate intervention strategy by an economics department to recruit and retain female majors. The challenge has been extended to twenty schools across the country and Colorado State University has been fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to implement these initiatives.
THE FACTS
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3:1
The average ratio of men to women in the Undergraduate Economics Major.
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5:1
The average ratio of men to women in the Economics Major at Colorado State University
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10% v. 20%
Upon acceptance into college, 10% of women will declare economics as their primary major compared to 20% of men.
WHERE WE ARE NOW:
In the first year and a half of the clubs existence on campus, we have implemented a full research study and smaller initiatives to understand why the gender gap at CSU is so much higher than the national average. In addition to these efforts, the club hosts events twice a month, offers weekly meetings, holds focus groups for students to express their concerns, and offers mentoring to younger female students.
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WHERE WE WANT TO GO:
Since its creation, the club has been expanding and members have become more invested in combating the gender gap. However, we want to make this a department wide initiative. Our hope for the future is to truly create an institution in the economics department. In addition to this we are hopeful that the mentoring program will grow and that we will begin to see more people attend our weekly meetings.