‘With every breakthrough, we shift the narrative’: The Boar speaks to Warwick Women in Economics

When it comes to gender equality, it’s safe to say economics has a dismal record. Only 32% of economics undergraduates in the UK are women, even though a majority of university students overall are. Venture into academia, or economics-adjacent fields like finance and consulting, and disparities are similarly stark.

One group that’s aiming to change this reality is Warwick Women in Economics (WWiE). The society boasts nearly 300 members and has hosted over 50 events this year, including careers events, conferences, and talks, with the ultimate aim of making economics more diverse and inclusive. To learn more, The Boar had the opportunity to talk to WWiE’s President, Aimee Cornish.

Aimee came across WWiE during her freshers’ week. Having met the society’s executive committee, she noted that “the culture was something [that she] didn’t find anywhere else”, with everyone being “genuinely kind and supportive”.

For Aimee, it’s this ethos of support and sisterhood that counts for so much. This internal culture isn’t just a matter of chance but is rather a direct product of the diversity WWiE aims to foster. Aimee notes that WWiE “[welcomes all] degrees and genders, so it’s not just ‘Warwick Women in Economics’”.

The society offers advice on getting internships and spring weeks, alongside tips on how to convert those experiences into longer-term roles

Key to creating a diverse economics is creating diverse workplaces – and this is where WWiE’s arsenal of careers events comes in. The society offers advice on getting internships and spring weeks, alongside tips on how to convert those experiences into longer-term roles. Aimee points out that “people feel a lot more confident leaving [the events] than when they arrived, and I think that’s really special about the society”.

As with other aspects of life, confidence is key in the world of economics. Per Aimee, it’s the lack of it amongst many women that goes some way towards explaining the discipline’s persistent disparities. However, this confidence gap doesn’t come out of nowhere.

Partly, it stems from the fact economics centres Western male perspectives. Aimee, having studied the discipline as part of her PPE degree, notes: “You study a lot of different theories, diagrams, graphs, and most of them have been invented by white, middle-class men.” This dynamic discourages many women from studying economics in the first place, let alone entering academia.

“[Women in economics] don’t have role models to look up to and say, ‘well, if they did it, so can I’”

Aimee Cornish, President of Warwick Women in Economics

She also cites the underrepresentation of women in senior leadership roles. This dearth means women “don’t have role models to look up to and say, ‘well, if they did it, so can I.’”

To redress this, WWiE invites women in senior leadership to Warwick for speaker events, who provide a “blueprint” for how to break down barriers. In term one, the society hosted Fatima Ahmed, an Assistant Manager at Deloitte. They also collaborated with Warwick Economics Society to welcome Katherine Neiss, Chief European Economist for PGIM Fixed Income.

Aimee suggests that senior leaders tend to highlight a similar set of challenges. A key one is the double standard surrounding motherhood. Working mothers are often seen as “terrible mothers” because they supposedly don’t spend enough time with their children – even though fathers who do the same are lauded.

Even before women become mothers, however, challenges abound in the workplace. Aimee cites accounts of women who successfully landed graduate schemes, only for their bosses to organise male-only socials that leave women feeling neglected and singled out.

Tomorrow, the society will be holding its annual International Women’s Day (IWD) Conference

Often, this exclusion is compounded by other forms of bigotry directed towards women from diverse backgrounds – such as racism, classism, and homophobia. As such, Aimee emphasises the importance of intersectionality at WWiE: a dynamic the society actively fosters. She notes that they recruit freshers’ representatives every year, always ensuring they have different interests and different backgrounds.

Alongside its careers events, WWiE is heavily focused on building a sense of community. Alongside its regular socials, the society has an annual ‘family scheme’, where freshers are grouped with members of the executive committee to engage in group activities like vision board making. Moreover, its alumni mentorship scheme encompasses 50 mentors and nearly 100 mentees, with the former providing tailored guidance to women at Warwick.

This support builds skills, such as confidence and the ability to present oneself, that women can deploy at WWiE’s annual conferences. This February, the society jointly organised ELEVATE, an all-women event at the Shard in London. In collaboration with Warwick Business School, Warwick Finance Societies, and Warwick Hedge Fund Society, WWiE arranged an evening of panel discussions and networking events involving female industry experts from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and elsewhere. Aimee highlighted that the conference was “monumental” – given that Warwick-organised events at the Shard tend to be heavily male-dominated.

Tomorrow, the society will be holding its annual International Women’s Day (IWD) Conference. Taking place from 11am–4pm on campus, the Conference schedule includes keynotes by HM Treasury’s Anisha Rasan and Maxime Laceby, the CEO of the mother-and-daughter-founded business Absolute Collagen. Women from the Financial Times, S&P Global, and elsewhere will also be sharing their experiences as part of a financial journalism panel, with a ‘women in economics’ panel taking place later in the day. With a lunch and networking event to boot, the Conference looks set to be fascinating – and admissions are completely free!

To round things off, Aimee remarks on the sheer extent to which tearing down barriers to opportunity for women in economics could transform the profession: “The glass ceiling has been a real barrier for generations, but with every breakthrough, we shift the narrative. It is my fervent hope that one day, it may feel like it was never there at all.”

If you’d like to attend WWiE’s International Women’s Day Conference tomorrow, you can sign up here.