Work

Bridging barriers: How COVID-19 changed racial diversity in economics seminars

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In this paper, new facts are documented on the racial distribution of seminar speakers in economics. From a sample of 270 institutions, I determined that before the COVID-19 pandemic, 82.5% of seminars were given by White speakers, 13.9% of seminars were given by Asian speakers, and 3.6% by speakers with a Hispanic-Latino or Black background. The racial distribution of speakers did not change globally. However, the share of speakers from underrepresented minorities in the United States almost doubled with the introduction of virtual seminars during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Virtual seminars during COVID-19 affected the racial diversity of economics seminar speakers. • Globally, the racial composition of seminar speakers remained largely unchanged. • In the U.S., the share of seminar speakers from underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds nearly doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Economics Letters

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112345

Author: Marcus Biermann

Institution: Bielefeld University

Language: English

Topic: Career Development and Diversity

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,030