2023-10-13 05:52:15
Bloomberg — Nobel Prize winner Claudia Goldin has some advice for American businesses: Stay flexible.
Returning to the office does not have to undo the gains made by women and caregivers in the workforce, the Harvard University economics professor said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.
That’s because many companies are still offering hybrid schedules (where employees can work remotely some days) and there is less demand for business travel, said Goldin, who this week became the third woman to win the top award in economics subject.
“Now that we’re cutting back on that travel, what I call greedy jobs are going to become more flexible,” he said, referring to positions with higher pay and greater responsibility, but more time demands. “At the same time, we have flexible jobs that are becoming more productive.”
“It just depends on what companies are doing,” Goldin said. “At the same time, although they are calling for people to return to the office, they are not necessarily saying that business travel is going to be the same as before.”
Goldin won the Nobel Prize in Economics for her research on women in the workforce, including the factors behind wage and employment gaps between men and women.
It found that while the gap could be explained in the past by differences in education and occupation, the current disparity occurs between men and women in the same roles.
In the interview, he urged expanding public support for child and elder care, and suggested that preschool and daycare programs be incorporated into the public education system.
“I would like public policymakers to take away from my work that the cost of care is extremely important,” he said. “But until the political entity is interested, until we can get everyone on board, we’re not going to get policymakers as responsive.”
Goldin advised parents to strive for equity in their relationship.
“With more couple equality there will be more gender equality,” he stated. “That’s an easy thing to say and a very difficult thing to do.”
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