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Female Economist Wins Nobel Memorial Prize For Gender Pay Gap Research

Claudia Goldin is just the third woman out of 93 individuals to win a Nobel Prize for economics. Goldin has a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago and was the first woman offered tenure in Harvard's economics department.

Goldin has spent her career researching the gender pay gap in the labor market. In the 200 years of women's inclusion in the workplace, Goldin's research shows that, even though there has been economic growth, women's pay continues to be less than men's in the face of women gaining higher levels of education. The Nobel Committee pointed out that Goldin's work reflects a comprehensive account of women's earnings and job market outcomes. To research women’s early workforce participation, she used unusual sources such as 1930s sex-segregated job listings and 18th-century business directories. These resources helped show how institutions, events, and technological innovations impact women's economic power. Of particular note in her research, Goldin shows that biological differences are not responsible for pay and labor participation differences. Instead, responsibility lies in the division of unpaid caregiving and household labor in heterosexual couples. Equity in those relationships is essential for women to achieve parity, according to Goldin. Pay gaps widen significantly following the birth of a woman’s first child. Childcare, elder care, and household work demand a lot of time and effort from women, primarily - time they cannot devote to other work.

While Goldin cannot solve the problems, she points to high-paying, high-pressure jobs that require people to choose between a competitive salary and taking care of household responsibilities. She desires a way to make these jobs less demanding without making them less productive.