the women’s issue
THE RESEARCHER
W
ERICA FIELD
PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND GLOBAL HEALTH AT DUKE UNIVERSITY
hat are the barriers preventing women from working in Pakistan? How do we reduce the number of child marriages? These are some of the questions Erica looks to answer with her research at Duke. “I really love developing and testing new ideas, and then hopefully getting an answer!” she says. But often, Erica explains, the answer is not always easy to interpret. “We try to approach it like laboratory science, but social science is inherently messy.” Over seven years, she has worked in a role that combines research on international development policy, training graduate students and research assistants, and teaching undergraduate classes. More recently, Erica has served as co-director of a group called DevLab@Duke, a weekly gathering of Duke students and faculty from several different schools and departments. The group discusses their research on development policy, its impact and new ideas. “My own research focuses largely on questions pertaining to gender and development,” she explains. “For instance, how to design effective policies to improve outcomes for women in developing countries – and how that feeds into economic development more broadly.”
The Chapel Hill native returned to North Carolina in 2012 after 20 years away to take on her current role at Duke. Erica lives in Trinity Park with her partner, Grant Tennille, and her three sons, Oliver, 10, Julius, 8, and Vince, 5, who attend Duke School, and their dog, Giacomo.
Erica’s work also includes acting as principal investigator on a number of diverse research projects. This can require anything from troubleshooting issues in the field to brainstorming new project ideas or approaches to measuring results. She spends a lot of time developing grant proposals and serving on committees, such as the American Economic Association Executive Committee. “They are working hard to address gender bias and improve diversity in the profession at large,” she says. She advises young women entering the field to be proactive in building networks with colleagues early on. “Also, as a female mentor once advised me, ‘Just put yourself out there.’ Women especially have a lot to gain from pushing themselves to voice their ideas more loudly, and we’re often not in the habit of doing that.” Erica’s colleagues and family help her maintain a sense of curiosity and a desire to make the world better. “I really love the people I work with, and am driven to learn more from collaborating with such smart and creative people,” she says. “But really, it’s my kids and my dog and a great cup of coffee that get me going each morning.” – Morgan Cartier Weston m ay 2 0 1 9
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