Organize and support mentoring by faculty and by peers.
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Standardizing advising and support networks can help reduce the impact of biases against women and members of underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. In an audit study in academia of more than 6,500 professors at top U.S. universities, Milkman, Akinola, and Chugh (2015) find that faculty are significantly more responsive to white male students than to all other categories of students when considering requests for advising meetings.
Bayer, Hoover, and Washington (2020) find that “a lack of good information and good mentoring discouraged underrepresented minorities from careers in economics” and identify many mentoring actions economists can take to improve the numbers of and climate for minorities in economics.
Peer mentoring programs strengthen interest and achievement for both mentees and mentors. As one model, see the Swarthmore College Department of Economics Visible Hands in Economics Program.