Claudia Goldin is a labor economist and historian as well as the first female tenured Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard. In the past six months alone, she was named both as the Nobel Prize winner for economics, and as one of Time’s women of the year.
Her work focuses on the history of the employment of women and why gender differences in earnings have changed overtime. Goldin has exposed the factors that influence the supply and demand of women in the workforce, giving women resources and support in their career endeavors.
Her research has given us trends to understand that while raising children is an important factor in women’s decisions to work or not, it is not the only factor. Goldin’s work has shown that women will succeed in both their careers and raising children, if they are given the opportunity.
The impact of her work has been widespread. It gives actual data to demonstrate how society struggles to give women the opportunities they need to thrive in the workforce, allowing women to advocate for themselves accordingly. Information is power, and Claudia Goldin has given women of all ages and across the globe a power they have never had before.