Well the author starts out by saying 15% of Economics Professors are women. Then says
"Across all the years, only 18% of the authors are female. This disparity between male and female authors alone exemplifies the gender gap."
Which is in line with the previous acknowledgment, so there is no additional conspiracy at play, just a result of the gender composition of the field.
But then the statistic about collaboration.
Men tend to collaborate with other men, just as women tend to collaborate with other women. The natural tendency for people to collaborate with people like themselves is universal.
So don't blame male economists for collaborating with other males slightly more than with females. It's a natural human tendency to do so. Women are more likely to collaborate with other women.
"Across all the years, only 18% of the authors are female. This disparity between male and female authors alone exemplifies the gender gap."
Which is in line with the previous acknowledgment, so there is no additional conspiracy at play, just a result of the gender composition of the field.
But then the statistic about collaboration.
Men tend to collaborate with other men, just as women tend to collaborate with other women. The natural tendency for people to collaborate with people like themselves is universal.
So don't blame male economists for collaborating with other males slightly more than with females. It's a natural human tendency to do so. Women are more likely to collaborate with other women.