Projects

Co-Impact and Women in Leadership in Economics Initiative

WELAC has received a grant from Co-Impact to strengthen our institution, enabling it to pursue more ambitious activities and professionalize the association.

A key activity for WELAC over the last years has been to promote the creation of women in Economics committees in the national economics associations of several countries. To date, these committees have been created or are in the final stages of being created in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay.  In the LACEA-LAMES 2023 meeting, representatives from these associations joined WELAC to strategize over the activities to prioritize in each country and define common challenges and goals.

In 2024, WELAC is coordinating the second WELAC survey, specifically targeting undergraduate students across 8 countries in the LAC region. The goal is to understand why fewer women pursue Economics at different stages. WELAC is also developing a directory of women in Economics in LAC. The complete list will be published on the WELAC website to enhance the visibility of women economists, making it easier to identify those who can participate in conferences and seminars, and to promote a more active role of female economists in policy debates through media engagement.

This grant is part of a larger funding package for the IEA-WE project, in which WELAC participates directly. IEA-WE (Women in Leadership in Economics) is a long-term initiative aimed at enhancing the role of women in the global economics profession, particularly in developing countries. IEA-WE is financed by the Co-Impact Foundation and the Open Society Foundation.

By conducting research in several countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, the Women in Leadership in Economics initiative will identify obstacles that women encounter in the field and explore strategies to eliminate them. Moreover, it will host various activities to amplify the voices of women economists in the global public sphere.

Raquel Fernández presenting the results of the first WELAC survey at the Women in Economics in Latin America session, IEA World Congress, Medellín, Colombia 2023.