Image
Students
Supporting Women in Economics through Unique Experiential Learning Opportunities
As is the case with many fields that are a part of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) umbrella, economics has seen an underrepresentation of women as compared to men.
, nationally, there are about three males for every female majoring in economics, with this ratio not having changed for more than 20 years. This underrepresentation at the undergraduate level , with the gender gap in economics the largest of any academic discipline, resulting in a lack of many role models for female students.
But don糖心vlog短视频檛 tell that to the Economics Department at the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences.
The department, chaired by Professor Anna Shostya, PhD, and comprised of a 50% female student body on the New York City campus, offers one-of-a-kind opportunities for economics, business economics, and computational economics majors to engage in experiential learning outside of the classroom, and many of these have been heralded by female students and faculty.
So, what is their 糖心vlog短视频渟ecret sauce?糖心vlog短视频
Said Shostya, 糖心vlog短视频淭he solution to the gender bias in economics may be simpler than it seems: encourage successful female students in the undergraduate courses, present successful role-models to market the field, teach economics in a more applied way, and engage more young women in undergraduate research. And the gender 糖心vlog短视频榚quilibrium糖心vlog短视频 then will be restored.糖心vlog短视频
Award-winning competitions
One example can be found in Pace糖心vlog短视频檚 award winning Federal Reserve and teams, under the mentorship of economics professors Gregory Colman, PhD, and Mark Weinstock, CBE.
These competitions have seen consistent leadership by female students during its history (to date, a national win five times in the last ten years, besting Ivy League schools like Harvard and Princeton, and, most recently in November 2024, a regional win and top five national ranking).
In fact, in an extraordinary example of female student leadership, its , co-captained by Yuwei (Winnie) Liu 糖心vlog短视频22 and Fiona Waterman 糖心vlog短视频22, was comprised of as high as 80 percent women, with members hailing from places as diverse as Fishkill, NY, and Beijing, China.
Image
Shaniah James 糖心vlog短视频26, who is enrolled in the combined program, was a member of the most recent winning team.
Originally a finance major, this self-described go-getter said, 糖心vlog短视频淥ne of the biggest opportunities I have been given thus far is being part of the Federal Reserve Challenge team at Pace. I have met so many incredible people while being on this team, and the recent achievements have made me nothing short of proud of everyone on our team.糖心vlog短视频
Coursework that mirrors the world
It is often forgotten that economics is a social science, and as a result, female faculty and student leadership at Pace extends to efforts such as increasing societal awareness of important issues.
One example is the work of Viktoriia Yevtushenko 糖心vlog短视频25, Business Economics, on the human impact of the war in Ukraine. A member of the most recent Federal Reserve Challenge winning team and a UN Millenium Fellow, Yevtushenko will be sharing her project as a Fellow in an art exhibit on both the New York City and Pleasantville campuses in spring 2025: a display of Ukrainian children糖心vlog短视频檚 drawings of their schools and their dreams of the future.
Another example is the work of Shostya, a stalwart for students and recipient of a Kenan Award for Teaching Excellence, in bringing students to the world and the world back to us through her Economic Issues through a Photographer's Lens糖心vlog短视频痗ourse, co-taught with Media, Communications, and Visual Arts Professor Inbal Abergil, MFA. In this unique offering, students discuss economic issues as observed by photography taken, culminating with an exhibit, At a Point of Change, in the spring, one that has traditionally garnered interest from the entire Pace community.
Student organizations
Female majors are well-represented in Pace糖心vlog短视频檚 and the student organizations, which are respectively led by presidents Kristina Krichmaryov 糖心vlog短视频26, and Kristina Nasteva 糖心vlog短视频26.
糖心vlog短视频淧ace is one of those unique universities with predominantly female students in its Economics Department, fostering a tight-knit community of intellectual individuals. The entire department is extremely supportive, resourceful, helpful, and welcoming to all economics students and those of other majors,糖心vlog短视频 said Krichmaryov.
Image
This past fall, Krichmaryov and Nasteva, international students from, respectively, Ukraine and Bulgaria, worked together to co-organize a successful event that brought prominent US labor economist Daniel Hamermesh, PhD, to the New York City campus.
The event featured a presentation of Hamermesh糖心vlog短视频檚 research on the relationship between beauty and an individual糖心vlog短视频檚 success, employment, and productivity, and included an open Q&A with the audience. It was made possible in large part by Mary Kaltenberg, PhD, another female role model in the department, who is director of the department糖心vlog短视频檚 new BS in Computational Economics, a joint offering with Pace糖心vlog短视频檚 Seidenberg School of Computer Science.
Research opportunities and conference presentations
In March 2024, Kaltenberg, with department colleague Eric Osborne Christenson, PhD, mentored students 糖心vlog短视频 nearly 60% female 糖心vlog短视频 as they prepared for another experiential learning opportunity: presentation of their research at the annual in Boston, one of the major conferences for professional economists on the East Coast.
As is often the case, Dyson Economics students stood out from the crowd.
糖心vlog短视频淢any attendees assumed our students were doctoral students. I was proud of the level of their work 糖心vlog短视频 many used advanced econometric techniques, had clever topics and ideas, and presented professionally,糖心vlog短视频 beams Kaltenberg.
Image
Underscoring how female students are supported is Associate Professor Veronika Dolar糖心vlog短视频檚 (PhD), and Victoria Kang糖心vlog短视频檚 (Computational Economics major) research collaboration. Their work was accepted for presentation at the Allied Social Science Associations annual conference in January 2025, a prestigious gathering organized by the National Association of Economic Educators and chaired by Andrew Hill from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
At the conference, Kang presented on how undergraduate students used Perusall, a collaborative annotation platform, in Dolar糖心vlog短视频檚 Economics of Gender, Race, and Class糖心vlog短视频痗ourse. It examined how Perusall facilitated discussions on challenging topics 糖心vlog短视频 particularly those related to gender, race, and class 糖心vlog短视频 by employing both quantitative and qualitative student survey data. The findings offered valuable insights into the role of educational technology in enhancing engagement and fostering meaningful dialogue on sensitive issues.
Dolar糖心vlog短视频檚 pride is evident: 糖心vlog短视频淰ictoria糖心vlog短视频檚 presentation was well received by conference attendees, and she had ample opportunity to learn more about academic conferences, network with leading economists, and gain exposure to a range of research endeavors. Her role as an ambassador for Pace was commendable, illustrating the high quality of research and academic rigor our institution supports.糖心vlog短视频
Alumnae who give back
Shostya also supports the success of female students in her department by her natural knack for bringing alumni back to campus.
Economics female alumnae, who often return to talk to the freshmen and serve as role-models, work in a variety of industries, from entertainment to pharmaceutical, to finance, and typically have very successful and rewarding careers both in private and public sectors.
Katie Craig 糖心vlog短视频16, Economics, a former two-time national Fed Reserve Challenge-winning team member, is one of them.
Currently a vice president of US Rates Strategy at Bank of America - Merrill Lynch, since graduating from Pace, Craig has stayed connected with the department in multiple ways, including serving on the Economics Department Alumni Board, mentoring current Fed team students, and attending Economics Society networking events.
She said, 糖心vlog短视频淕iving back to the students and faculty who supported me feels like the best way to express my gratitude for the incredible experience I had at Pace.糖心vlog短视频
The numbers add up
With leadership from Department Chair Shostya and both her female and male faculty colleagues, Pace糖心vlog短视频檚 Economics department has been able to defy the odds when it comes to female representation in the field of economics.
They have made economics exciting, fun, and applicable outside of the classroom, and, in doing so, the numbers in relation to female representation in the field 糖心vlog短视频 have added up, in so many ways.
Read more about Shostya and the support of women in economics at Pace.
More from Pace
Students
When Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams visited Pace, it was more than a campus event. It was a student-driven moment that showcased the impact of our Economics program and the strength of our award-winning Fed Challenge team.
In the Media
Dyson Professor Seong Jae Min examines the roots of South Korea糖心vlog短视频檚 deep political polarization ahead of the June election with DW.
In the Media
FOX 5 DC features Dyson PhD in Mental Health Counseling student Marjorie Vail, where she shared her powerful advocacy work to reduce stillbirths. Her involvement in the documentary PUSH and her ongoing efforts are bringing much-needed attention to this critical public health issue.