On 27 August 2025, we held successfully the jointly organized EAAE-DE-I-TECT session about “Equity and Diversity in Agricultural and Food Economics – where are we?” at the 50th anniversary meeting of the European Association of Agricultural Economics at Bonn University. Silke Hüttel (Universities of Bonn and Göttingen) and EAAE board member Linde Götz (Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies) brought together highly recognised researchers in the field of women in agricultural economics: Regents Professor Jill McCluskey (Washington State University), evaluation of equal opportunity measures, Professor Ester Cois (University of Cagliari), and the leading expert on racial inequalities and food insecurity, Professor Norbert Wilson (Duke University NC).
Long story short, we recognize a systematic gender difference, for instance, women publish at lower rates than men but we find better written and more clearly written papers by women. The review process takes on average 6 months longer, after controlling for maternity leave! Recall that the number of publications is a major factor predicting the academic rank. It became clear the we however need diverse research teams and a values-driven research framework that centres around equity, interdisciplinarity, community engagement, policy focus, and appropriate rigor to address the sustainability transition of the agri-food system.
Please also refer to our Bluesky and LinkedIn post.
