Interview with Isabella Kanczuk and Ava Strong, the Founders of Girls in Economics
1. To kick us off, can you both please introduce yourselves to the readers and provide a bit of background on how you know each other?
Hi, my name is Isabella Kanczuk and I am a junior at Milton Academy, in Massachusetts, and my name is Ava Strong and I am a junior at Sidwell Friends School, in Washington DC. We met at the Foundation for Teaching Economics’ Economics for Leaders program at Yale University.
2. Moving on to the primary focus of the interview, can you give us an overview of what Girls in Economics is as well as the original inspiration behind it?
After Ava and I attended the Foundation for Teaching Economics’ Economics for Leaders program at Yale University, we noticed the large gender disparity in our program. Intrigued by this, we did some further research and realized this gender disparity translated to the field of Economics as well. As a result, Ava and I were inspired to create a virtual speaker event to introduce girls to economics. Indeed, we have both noticed economics-related clubs being male-dominated in our high schools and we hope to change that in both of our communities as well as, eventually, across the country. In my school (Milton Academy), for example, I am the only girl out of 36 in our economics club and the only girl out of 52 in our investment club. Our long-term goal is to create an organization that serves to expose girls to economics and educate them on what it means to be a woman in the field.
Essentially, Girls in Economics is an organization dedicated to growing and fostering girls’ interest in economics. As of September 2021, only 26% of all female economists are women, and Girls in Economics strives to change that, through hosting speaker sessions such as this one by professionals in the field and facilitating conversations between members about how we will change this statistic. Girls in Economics is a great way to not only engage with other girls interested in economics but also to expand your connections and network. Our primary statement, essentially, is to introduce girls to the field of economics, as well as foster a supportive community of both current and aspiring female economists.
3. What was the process of creating Girls in Economics like? What were some of the challenges and obstacles that you have faced in your journey? What lessons have you learned?
Creating Girls in Economics was certainly not linear. It was originally Bella and a few school friends’ rough idea, and they were looking for more people to help get it off the ground. In the Economics for Leaders program that Bella and I attended that occurred over Zoom this year, Bella reached out to all of the girls by email and asked if any of us would be interested in helping to co-found the organization. We originally had nine people from EFL who showed interest in founding the organization, but once the school year started, all but us two and one other people did not have the time to continue with the organization. For about a week the Co-Founders were three of us, but our third ended up not having enough time to really develop Girls in Econ. She functions as our advisor now, and we are very pleased to still have her connected to the organization, but it was certainly a challenge having so many people unable to continue. We have learned that having two co-founders is actually more effective than nine since our communication is easier. We have also developed our leadership skills since all of the responsibilities of the organization fall on us.
4. How do you feel your gender has impacted your pursuits of economics given that the field is still largely male-dominated?
Bella: Personally, being the only girl at school in both the Economics club and Investment club, as well as one of two girls in my Microeconomics class at school, sometimes, it is slightly intimidating. Additionally, at the start of my joining of these clubs and classes, I noticed that most of the conversations, before the actual Economics material was presented, strictly revolved around football (which I was not familiar with, at all), so I often felt left out of friendships. As a result, as time has gone by, I have noticed myself trying to stay more up-to-date with football news, in general, in order to make more friendships, which, although successful, does not make me that particularly happy since I had to completely alter my interests in order to fit in with “the boys.”
Ava: Similarly to Bella, as one of the few girls who continuously go to my school’s Investment club, it is easy to not feel qualified or comfortable enough to share your ideas and opinions in that space. There is a mentality in clubs like these that boys automatically know more than girls about economics and finance, which is not the case per se. Boys often feel more comfortable joining clubs like these because they are often male-dominated and therefore, they often learn and engage more in the clubs than girls.
5. How is Girls in Economics helping to promote women within the field of economics? What actions can society take to further support women, especially young girls, in their intellectual pursuits?
Girls in Economics is helping to promote women within the field of economics by introducing hundreds of girls in the field (through a variety of female economics professors, specialists, etc.), as well as fostering a supportive community of both current and aspiring female economists (through connected email chains, zooms, etc.). The biggest step that society can take to further support women, especially young girls, in their intellectual pursuits is to create more opportunities for them to truly learn about their respective fields of interest (let them talk to specialists in the field, experience internships in the field, etc.).
6. What advice would you give to students, regardless of their gender, who are looking for ways to delve deeper into the world of finance or to learn more about economics?
We actually asked this same question to Professor Judy Chevalier, an economics and finance professor at Yale University, and she told us to, first, make sure that we have a strong math background and, second, make sure that we know, at least vaguely, our main interests in the field. She gave us this very helpful website targeted, specifically, for high school girls looking to enter the field of economics: https://www.economistschangetheworld.org/.
Personally, the advice that I would give to any girls looking to enter the field of economics, which is largely dominated by men, is to not be intimidated by them; girls are just as naturally equipped to study economics as men, despite being the minority gender in the field.
7. Finally, what can we look forward to seeing from Girls in Economics in the near future?
A lot more speakers, as well as, hopefully, meetings with 4 or 5 speakers at a time! Additionally, we are currently looking to start workshops and a program in which girls can collaboratively prepare for the National Economics Challenge!
Interview Conducted by EIC Natalie Martin
