IEA: You have studied the role of women in Colombia and the extent to which increased access to education has led to improvements. More recently, you have also looked at domestic violence during COVID-19. Can you summarize what you have found?

María: Colombian women have played an active role in society. However, they could only formally sign a contract or access university 90 years ago, and they could vote and participate in politics since the end of 1950s. We are still experiencing the consequences of this institutional delay in recognizing women. Although, the gender gap in access to education at any level has closed, women still experience discrimination in many ways in the country. Political participation is still very low, care economy is something we are only starting to talk about recently, and there is a still a strong and deep horizontal and vertical discrimination in the labor market.  These gaps get deeper during crises. Women are more vulnerable to economic shocks. Not only directly — through a higher unemployment rate, more informal jobs, more inactive population, higher impact on income, and so on – but also indirectly. Economic crisis impacts women’s levels of vulnerability within their households which manifest in higher levels of domestic violence. In the last year the pandemic appears to have undone decades of progress in terms of gender gaps, including educational achievements. These setbacks also are noticeable in terms of gender violence, in particular during the extreme quarantine, where mobility was restricted, members of households had to stay together at home during long periods, and household income was severe affected for those that are part of the informal economy — the majority — and could not go to work. During the pandemic crisis, due to economic vulnerability, our research shows that women’s empowerment within the household decreases and gender-based violence increases. Surprisingly, so far, we have found that the unconditional money transfer programs that the government implemented during the pandemic were not enough to mitigate violence against women.

IEA: Researchers based in developing countries sometimes face serious obstacles in accessing research networks that are based largely in advanced countries. For women, the challenges can be even greater. What has been your experience in this regard? Would you have some advice for young scholars who are starting off their careers outside those established networks?

María: I agree researchers in developing countries often face barriers in accessing research networks. For us it is more difficult to participate in the important conferences and we have less resources to purchase datasets or do fieldwork. Also, there is a clear bias when publishing in top journals or field journals depending on the university you are affiliated. There are also some networks that only accepts affiliates when you work or are graduated from a ‘top’ university, often only those located in the USA or Western Europe. These obstacles are very visible.

My main advice is to develop and keep strong links with the university where you pursue your PhD. In these universities we usually stay at least five years, so it is important to network and get to know as many professors and fellows you can. If this is the case, when you go back to your home country you need to find ways to don’t lose these links. For example, co-authoring with classmates or professors, spending summers working with co-authors in their universities, collaborating on grant proposals together, and participating in as many international conferences as you can. It is important to not be shy when talking with other academics and to take advantage of every opportunity to visit other universities. I had the great privilege to have three amazing supervisors that have supported me in this regard even after finishing my PhD and that helped me to get a job as an assistant professor in Colombia. In my case, after finishing my PhD at the LSE I had the opportunity to become a fellow at the Latin American Centre and the Frioz Lalji Centre for Africa and to start coauthoring with three professors — one in economics, one in economic geography and one in international development department. My collaborators at the LSE understand the concerns academics at universities in the Global South have and therefore help to create affiliations that allow us to extend our networks through their support systems. I am committed to keeping a strong network with the LSE, by booking international travel with stopovers in London when going elsewhere in Europe.

Economics is a male-dominated field. That is why it is also key to strengthen the links among the women in the field. I try to help in this regard by leading the network WinEED (Women in Environmental Economics for Development) and MIA (an association of female students in economics at Uniandes). In both networks we work to develop links among scholars, and strengthen mentorship and empowerment in the field.

Looking into the future I am excited about more South-South connections between women scholars and those working in development economics. I think this is a way for us to close the gender gap and ensure that our voices are mainstreamed in the academic literature.