Leading the Way toward Gender Parity in Finance and Economics
When Cornerstone Research was founded in 1989, two of our three founders were working mothers with toddlers. As they delivered on our commitment to the highest quality work for our clients, they also shared strategies for childcare along with the joys and challenges of raising young families.
We find ourselves reflecting on those early years as we begin a series of posts looking at women in finance and economics. In the coming months, we will discuss how the gender gap manifests itself in the academic and corporate worlds, how to create an engaging corporate culture, and how to build inclusive pathways to leadership.
Today is International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. This year we face the sobering awareness that the workplace challenges wrought by COVID-19 have hit women at all levels particularly hard. According to the recently released Women in the Workplace 20201 report, more than one in four women are thinking about potentially downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce altogether.
This is an important moment for women in finance and economics. Women remain significantly underrepresented in the upper management of financial services companies. As they advance through their careers, they steadily lose ground to their male peers at every stage.2 In economics, researchers have found that women are less likely than men to be hired and promoted, and face greater barriers to getting their work published in economic journals.3
The founders of Cornerstone Research built a thriving firm committed to rigorous, objective analyses, and an inclusive, collaborative culture that maximizes the full potential of every employee. We continue to follow in their footsteps and work proactively to make further progress on gender parity and inclusion, both within our own firm and for all women working in law, finance, and economics.
Yesim Richardson,
President, Cornerstone Research
The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Cornerstone Research.
2 Ibid.
3 “For Women in Economics, the Hostility Is Out in the Open,” New York Times, 2/23/2021.