Hamilton economics professors Ann Owen and Elizabeth Jensen have been studying why far fewer women than men choose to major in economics. Results of their survey are featured in an article in The Boston Globe (2/4/01).
Owen and Jensen surveyed almost 1,800 students taking introductory economics at coeducational liberal arts colleges to find out what drew them to or away from economics.
Among their findings: including a warm-up activity, intended to help students get to know one another, at the beginning of the semester is associated with higher relative grades, especially for women. Devoting more class time to group problem solving increases the relevance of economics to females, but only if gender balance in the class does not put them in the minority. Female instructors are more likely to increase a female student's interest in taking another economics class when she otherwise wouldn't have taken one.
