Guidance: Women in Economics

About Us

What we are about

The work of economists in Government touches upon all aspects of life – from living standards and prosperity, an individual’s consumption choice to business growth and global trends spanning countries. This is why it is essential that the economists who provide advice for evidence-based policy making are representative of the society that the government serves. Diversity in our backgrounds leads to diversity of perspective with better approaches and more informed decisions.

The Government Economic Service (GES) is committed to upholding values that reflect the gender diversity of our society. We provide professional careers and opportunities, as well as a supportive community, for women in the field of economics. Our most recent initiative creates a vocal presence advocating for women in our profession through this webpage and our associated vlogs and blogs. We also welcome feedback on promoting non-gender conforming language.

To “Meet some of our economists” click here
Meet some of our economists
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News and Events

1st Open Day Fair – Women in Economics – 16 November 2018

For the first time, we organised this year as special event to promote the GES as a career for women at the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy. Students were able to engage directly with women from a range of backgrounds and at all levels of seniority in the GES.

The event started with an initial panel discussion showcasing different professional journeys and discussing the varied work GES economists do. This was followed by a Fair in which a number of Departments hosted a stand and provided one to one information. Students were able to find out about opportunities from many Departments. The Ministry of Justice, The Department for Work and Pensions, the Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs , the Office for National Statistics, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Education, the Department for Culture Media and Sports, Her Majesty’s Treasury, The Department for Transport, the Department of Health, the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Women in Economics Network were all represented.

We plan to run similar events next year and we will post them on this page!

The ‘Gender in GES’ initiative

The Gender in the GES initiative promotes diversity in economis. We aim to increase female participation in economics in government and academia.

Gender in the GES strand objectives
Gender in the GES strand objectives
(MS Powerpoint Presentation, 122KB)

With endorsement from the GES Board, the ‘Gender in the GES’ (GiG) initiative launched in January 2018. The focus of the initiative is to tackle the issue of gender diversity within the GES; however, we also care about the other protected characteristics. The focus is on 3 main objectives:

1. Girls studying economics: increase the share of women applying to study economics at university
2. GES market share – increase the share of female economists working in the GES, making the GES the employer of choice for female economists in the UK
3. GES senior women/progression: increase the share of GES females in SCS positions

GiG Committee

Jenny Bates, Director, EU Exit and Economic Partnerships, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

Jenny has been a member of the Government Economics Service (GES) since 2001 and is co-leading the GES initiative to improve the economic profession in Government.

Osama Rahman, Director of Analysis and Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Education (DfE)

Before joining the DfE, Osama spent over 14 years at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). He has been a member of GES since 2003 and is co-leading the GES initiative to improve the economics profession in Government.

Contact us

If you would like to help us achieve our objectives, please contact Carolina.Salvaterra@beis.gov.uk or anna.woolf@culture.gov.uk to find out more.

Gender in the GES strands

Gender in the GES strands
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More information on the GES GIG Committee

More information on the GES GiG committee
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