Warwick Women in Economics Society on a mission to increase equality and diversity in economics

By Hargun Kaur (President) and Milena Ermolenko (Vice-President)

Our mission: equality, diversity and inclusion in economics

This academic year has been an immense success for Warwick Women in Economics (WWIE) society. We hosted well-attended events ranging from the Welcome Week picnic and Christmas dinner to numerous themed circles and our career events. We recently hosted our annual Ball in collaboration with other societies, such as the LEAD Network and TEDx Warwick. WWIE strives to promote inclusivity and diversity within the economics discipline, simultaneously showing that economics is and should be for everyone!

Speaking to our members and gathering their feedback after our events has been invaluable. We've heard words of encouragement, specifically first-year female students telling us how crucial they believe our society's work is. Most importantly, everyone who has attended a WWIE event or has been part of WWIE's executive team knows - we strive to create a safe space for Economics students, so that they feel comfortable to ask questions, share advice, and make new friends! WWIE has been a platform for many to raise their voice and uplift each other during challenging times. Overall, we are very pleased with the progress we've made this year - we've grown in numbers, but most importantly we've grown the amount of love and recognition for our society.

Gender Equality Award

We have strengthened our partnership with the Department of Economics, and continue to receive support from staff and students alike. A huge achievement this year for WWIE has been the recognition we received for our efforts, specifically, the IWD Conference we held last year. We were Highly Commended by the Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team and the Gender Taskforce as part of the Gender Equality Award. Being recognised by an external body for our contribution towards the enhancement of equality, diversity and inclusion is a privilege and we hope next year's executive committee continues our efforts.

"Being recognised by an external body for our contribution towards the enhancement of equality, diversity and inclusion is a privilege and we hope that next year's executive committee continues our efforts"

Hargun Kaur, WWIE Society President and Milena Ermolenko, WWIE Vice-President

International Women’s Day Conference – March 2023

For the first time, we had the privilege to host our flagship International Women’s Day Conference entirely in-person. Our focus this year was on academia, specifically we aimed to spread awareness about the different career paths following an undergraduate degree in economics. We hosted academic and researchers from Imperial College London, University of Cambridge, University of York and LSE. Our esteemed speakers were Dame Carol Propper, Dr Laure de Preux Gallone, Dr Noriko Amano-Patino and Dr Ines Lee to name a few. The conference incorporated keynote speeches, a panel with elements of a debate, and a workshop on entrepreneurship led by Ju Vern See. We received overwhelming support for the event, with over 90 registrations. Our IWD Conference is always free of charge and attendees were able to enjoy free lunch, a drinks reception and a networking session with some of the speakers. Overall, this year’s IWD Conference was a success and has shown us the importance of continuously promoting economics as a subject for all.

Future plans

If you are interested in what our society does and would like to reach out with regards to speaker events (we host Warwick alumni in our career events every year), or perhaps you would like to participate in the IWD Conference next year as an attendee or speaker – please get in touch via our webpage:

Warwick Women in Economics SocietyLink opens in a new window

We look forward to what’s to come next academic year!

Hargun and Milena