SRINAGAR: American economist Claudia Goldin was awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics on Monday for her research on the gender wage gap and women’s labor force participation.
Goldin, a professor at Harvard University, was recognised by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for advancing the understanding of the reasons behind persistent gender inequality in the labour market.
Her pioneering work demonstrated how factors like occupational segregation, inflexible work schedules, and lack of affordable childcare have historically held women back from achieving equal pay and status in the workplace.
“By creating a substantial body of empirical research that identifies the fundamental causes of gender disparities in wages and labor force participation, Goldin’s contributions have had a profound and lasting impact on economics and public policy,” the Academy said in a statement.
Goldin, 68, has spent decades studying women’s changing role in the U.S. economy, documenting how societal pressures and institutional barriers have shaped women’s career choices and opportunities.
Her most influential paper, “The Quiet Revolution That Transformed Women’s Employment, Education, and Family,” analysed how the gender gap in earnings narrowed dramatically in the 1980s as more women entered male-dominated professions. However, progress stalled as careers requiring long inflexible hours posed work-life balance challenges.
“Goldin’s research demonstrates that greater gender equality hinges crucially on making workplaces more flexible and revamping social policies to better support women’s dual roles as workers and caregivers,” the Academy noted.
Reacting to the news, Goldin said she was “absolutely thrilled” to receive the Nobel Prize. “I’m happy the impact of my work is being recognised,” she told reporters.
Goldin is only the third woman to win the economics prize since it was first awarded in 1969. The Nobel Prize in economics is the final prize to be announced each year after the prizes in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace.
With Monday’s award to Goldin, all six Nobel Prizes in 2023 have now been announced. The other female winner this year was French author Annie Ernaux, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
