WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says she wants to raise awareness of the need for diversity among economists, with relatively few women and minorities still choosing to major in economics in college.
Yellen, who is the first woman to head the central bank in its 100-year history, was speaking Thursday at a conference on diversity in the economics profession organized by the Fed and the American Economic Association.
“History shows that economies develop and become more stable through diversification,” Yellen said. She added that in the financial world, diversity among market players is critical in spreading risk.
And she said decisions by the Fed are better because of the range of perspectives among its policymakers.
Among the questions to be addressed, Yellen said, is how college students view the coursework and employment prospects for economics majors compared with what the actual prospects are. The lack of diversity among economics majors may reflect “a more general need to make basic economics more relevant and otherwise appealing to undergrads,” she said.
