Claudia Goldin Wins Nobel Prize® in Economics for Work on Gender Pay Gap 

Congratulations to Claudia Goldin, Harvard economic historian, on being awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for work advancing the understanding of the continued wage and labor market inequalities between men and women. In awarding the Nobel Prize in Economics to Dr. Goldin the Nobel Committee described her work as, “the first comprehensive account of women’s earnings and labour market participation through the centuries”. 

“I have always thought of myself as a detective!” Goldin commented in an interview with Axios, posted on X (formerly Twitter). “The detective always believes there is a way of finding the answer and that is the way I have always done research.”   

Her groundbreaking research covers 200 years of archived U.S. data– from an agricultural to an industrial to a service society. This extensive research delivers a comprehensive account of women’s earnings, labor participation, levels of education, causes of change in pay (including social norms regarding women’s responsibilities for home and family), and main sources of the remaining gender pay gap.  

“I’m delighted that Claudia Golden was recognized by the Nobel Committee. Her research enables all of us to better understand and address the continued gender inequalities in pay and career advancement opportunities,” Catherine Candland, nextSource Chief Executive Officer said. “As the Chief Executive Officer of nextSource, a woman-owned, data-centric business with a majority of women workers, our mission is to provide our clients with access to great talent devoid of gender specifics. Building on what we have learned from Dr. Goldin, we work with our staffing partners to target women who have experienced a gap in their careers and to promote opportunities for women in the workplace.”  

“Understanding women’s role in the labour force is important for society. Thanks to Claudia Goldin’s groundbreaking research we now know much more about the underlying factors and which barriers may need to be addressed in the future,” noted Jakob Svensson, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences. 

The challenge for all of us is to put what we have learned into practice.