“Claudia Goldin has been very important”
On Monday, Nobel Laureate in Economics Claudia Goldin held a lecture for researchers and other economists. Claudia Goldin has meant a great deal for gender economics, according to Professor Anne Boschini.
Claudia Goldin, Professor at Harvard University, is awarded this year´s Prize in Economic Sciences "for improving our understanding of women's labour market outcomes". She thus became the first woman to be awarded the prize alone (previously two women have been awarded the prize, but then shared it with men). During the Nobel Week in December, Claudia Goldin had a full schedule, which included a Nobel lecture in Aula Magna at Stockholm University on 8 December under the auspices of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Crowded lecture at the Economy Museum
On December 11, Claudia Goldin gave a lecture at the Economy Museum entitled "Why Women Won". In addition to the Economy Museum, the event was organized by the Nobel Prize Museum, the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) at Stockholm University, the Swedish Women's Organisations, FemEk – the Women's Movement's Economic Think Tank, Nationalekonomiska Föreningen (the Swedish Economics Association) and the organisation Ownershift.
The lecture was quickly fully booked. Among those in the audience were Minister for Gender Equality Paulina Brandberg and her predecessor in the ministerial post, Annika Strandhäll. The audience also included several well-known Swedish economists such as Agneta Stark and Annika Winsth.
Struggle for civil rights and women's rights
Claudia Goldin began by joking that it was nice to be able to wear normal clothes again after she had to wear a long dress and pantyhoses during the Nobel Day – but that it was well worth doing to be awarded the prize. She then lectured on how American women during the 20th century had gained an increasingly strong position in society and how this struggle went hand in hand with the struggle for civil rights in the United States.
The focus of the lecture was on the 1960s and 1970s. It was a period of many victories for the American women's movement. Until then, it was common for American women to quit their jobs because they were getting married or becoming pregnant. At the time, it was not uncommon for women to be forced to have their husband's name on their credit card or to be sexually harassed – and this was considered normal.
According to Claudia Goldin, a large part of the improvements that occurred for women during the 1960s and 1970s can be explained by the success of the civil rights struggle in the United States. During the 1960s, the struggle to strengthen black civil rights had the wind at its back. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson pushed through several new civil rights laws, and with a few years of delay, new legislation (and changes in values) also came that strengthened women's rights. Now, women were also seen as an important group of voters in the elections.
In response to a question from the audience about the situation for women in the United States today and the role of institutions, Claudia Goldin replied that a major problem is that the Supreme Court today is not independent, because it is filled with judges based on a political agenda.
Mingle arranged by the Swedish Institute for Social Research
After the lecture, mingling was arranged for the visitors. Behind the mingle was GAINS (Gender Analysis and Interdisciplinary Research Network Stockholm), which is a research group at the Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University.
Photo: Māris Vancevičs
Anne Boschini, Professor of Economics at the Swedish Institute for Social Research, talks about why GAINS was involved in arranging the lecture with Claudia Goldin and the subsequent mingle:
"We at GAINS wanted the chance to interact with Claudia Goldin because she meant so much to many of us and also to have a chance to hear more about her latest research. Many female economists were very moved when Claudia Goldin was awarded the Economics prize, and the seminar also became a way for us to gather and share the joy no matter where we work.
What did you take with you from Claudia Goldin's lecture?
"In terms of content, I take with me the importance of 'collective action' to implement important societal changes and how 'cool' Claudia Goldin is both in her research and when she answers questions as she answers the questions directly and without paraphrasing.
“Claudia Goldin has been very important because she has shown that gender economics is a legitimate and important research area and that it is possible to build an academic career on the subject," concludes Anne Boschini.
Also read "University President in a new role during Nobel Week"
Last updated: December 12, 2023
Source: Communications Office