The Facts
On Monday, Harvard University professor Claudia Goldin was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for her research into the causes of wage and labor market inequality between men and women.
After studying more than 200 years of US data, Goldin could successfully show that variations in education and job type historically accounted for much of the gender wage gap.
The Spin
Narrative A
Claudia Goldin is a trailblazing economist whose most influential papers have concerned the history of women in their quest for career and family, coeducation in higher studies, the impact of birth control pills on career and marriage decisions, surnames after marriage as a social indicator, and why women now comprise the majority of undergraduates. This well-deserved Nobel award merits commendation.
Narrative B
While Goldin's award deserves maximum recognition, it must be asked: why have so few women been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, given that women make up half of humanity? The Nobel Prize is an outdated mode of scientific recognition that was historically — and remains — biased towards men and those working in the Western world. It's time the Nobel is replaced entirely with an award that incentivizes cooperation and eliminates the bias against women.
