Mentoring Helps Female Economists Succeed

A new working paper published through the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that a relatively simple mentoring intervention helps female economics achieve academic career success. The study, designed as a randomized controlled trial, tests the efficacy of the American Economics Association’s two-day mentoring workshop for women, now called the Workshop for Faculty in Doctoral Programs. The authors observed workshop participants and nonparticipants four to 14 years later. They found that the workshops helped female economists build lasting relationships with peers and mentors -- and to stay in academe and gain tenure in selective departments.