Social Science Statistics Blog

What difference does her gender make?

That is a fair question, although one with a pretty obvious answer to those of us who were around Harvard during the presidency of Larry "Inherent Differences" Summers. The fact is that economics has not been a very welcoming discipline for female academics, and awarding the Clark Medal to a female economist is a big deal. But I'll let Athey speak for herself (from the Crimson article):

Athey said she is pleased at the increased presence of women in economics. However, she cautioned that her own situation is a unique one.

“It’s a lot easier that I didn’t have my children until I became fairly established, so I didn’t have to worry as much about proving myself,” Athey said. “This award makes it particularly hard since...most women like me would be evaluated for the award at the time they’re having young children.”