Women Economists in Latin America and the Caribbean (WELAC)

During the meeting of the Executive Committee of LACEA in Guayaquil, November 2018, a new committee was created, under the leadership of Raquel Fernández (Silver Professor of Economics at New York University; then Vice President of LACEA). This committee, WELAC - Women Economists in Latin America and the Caribbean - is dedicated to monitoring and encouraging the careers of women economists in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Raquel Fernández (Silver Professor of Economics at New York University) is the Director of WELAC - Women Economists in Latin America and the Caribbean and María Inés Berniell (Universidad Nacional de La Plata and CEDLAS) is WELAC Coordinator.

 

Please visit the official WELAC web-page, for more information.

 

WELAC Executive committee includes:

Laura Alfaro (Harvard Business School)
Adriana Camacho (UNDP and Universidad de los Andes)
Ana María Ibáñez Londoño (Inter-American Development Bank)
Renata  Narita (University of São Paulo)
Hugo Ñopo (GRADE) 
Joana Silva (The World Bank)
Silvana Tenreyro (London School of Economics)


2023

  1. WELAC organized a Workshop on Gender  and Household Economics at the RIDGE 2023 Forum on May 15-16, 2023. The deadline for papers submission is February 10th, 2023. For more information please click here.
  2. WELAC — Women in Economics In LAC — will be holding a Mentoring Session during the conference on November 16, 2023 at 10:30 during the LACEA-LAMES 2023 Annual Meeting. This will be followed by a brainstorming session to discuss what should be the next steps at the national and regional level to advance women’s standing in the profession. We hope to see you there!


2022

  1. WELAC organized a Workshop on “Gender Inequality” at the RIDGE 2022 Virtual Forum on June 3, 2022. The Workshop encouraged the submission of papers that examine gender implications broadly defined from all fields in economics. Full program of the event can be viewed here.
  2. In 2022, the WELAC team conducted a comprehensive survey across 10 Latin American countries, targeting universities and research centers. The survey aimed to gather data on the participation of women in the field of economics, covering Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The survey collected information on the gender composition of faculty in Economics Departments and research centers, both in public and private universities, as well as the representation of women among undergraduate and graduate students.  The WELAC survey is an integral part of a broader project, documenting and understanding the situation of women's academic careers in the field of economics in the region. It seeks to foster discussions on gender representation within the field and contribute essential data for the development of effective policies. ACCESS THE REPORT HERE

  3. WELAC conducted a Mentoring Session on November 4, 2022, 5:30-7:30 pm during LACEA-LAMES 2022 Annual Meeting. The session was attended by more than 80 mentors and mentees, who received career advice from experienced professionals from LAC, and got answers to specific questions on a range of issues relating to your career and research. 

 


2021

  1. WELAC organized a Workshop on “Gender Inequality” at the RIDGE 2021 Virtual Forum on September 23, 2021. Eight papers were presented with topics related to: behavior within the household, sexual safety and the gender gap. Full program of the event can be viewed here.
  2. WELAC conducted a Mentoring Session on October 21, 2021 during LACEA-LAMES 2021 Annual Meeting. The session gathered around 60 attendees between mentors and mentees; and the main discussed topics were Efficient teaching, Grant proposals and publishing, Tenure/promotion, and Work and life balance. More information can be found here.

2019

The First meeting of WELAC was organized on November 8th, 2019, where both female and male economists attended. The meeting started with a general discussion aimed at identifying the main topics/issues that WELAC should take up. It was followed by a mentoring session for junior and mid-career economists.