Celebrating Black Women in Economics
Women's History Month is a month dedicated to celebrating and highlight the significant contributions of women to society and this month, TBEN will mark this special occasion by hosting a panel with a range of successful Black female economists from a range of different backgrounds.
Join us alongside our special guests as we discuss the achievements and setbacks of Black women in the field, but also dive a little deeper into the role of diversity into the field of economics.
Confirmed special guests: Dr Vera Songwe, Tega Akati-Udi, Modupe Olukanni, Adeola Fayemiwo and Dr Rhonda Sharpe
March 25 | 6.30-8.00pm GMT
About our panellists:
Dr Vera Songwe
Vera Songwe is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Upon her appointment, she became the first woman to lead the institution in its 60-year history. Throughout her career, she has been recognised by a number of highly regarded publications, such as Forbs and FT, as being amongst the most influential women in Africa. She has held numerous senior roles with the International Finance Corporation and World Bank and has published works that have contributed to debates on a plethora of development and economic issues. In her current role, she is focused on generating and supporting the development of “ideas for a prosperous Africa".
Dr. Rhonda Sharpe
Rhonda Vonshay Sharpe is an economist and mathematician who analyses large datasets to find the stories hidden in the aggregate. Rhonda is the President and Founder of the Women’s Institute for Science, Equity and Race (WISER). She was named a 'Black Scholar You Should Know' by TheBestSchools.org and BlackEnterprise.com. She is also the co-editor of the Review of Black Political Economy and has served as President of the National Economic Association (2017). She serves on the boards of the International Association for Feminist Economists and Diversifying and Decolonising Economics.
Oghenetega Akati-Udi
Before joining Frontier Economics, Tega completed a master’s in Economics at Tilburg University, graduating with a cum laude academic distinction. She also holds a first class bachelors degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge. In 2018, she was awarded the Provost’s prize for her work as Ethnic minorities officer at King’s college. This included organising the first BME open day at the college as well as the first Black History Month exhibition showcasing Black alumni from King’s College dating as far back as the 1900s.
Modupe Olukanni
Modupe is a first class graduate in Economics and has a masters in Finance and Econometrics. She has nearly 2 years experience working as an economic analyst for a global engineering company, specialising within the infrastructure sector. She has recently secured a role as a funding analyst for a financial services company where she is keen to further develop her knowledge of the finance sector. In 2020, she started her YouTube channel (Modupe Olukanni) where she shares her career experience and advice to help guide and motivate others.
Adeola Fayemiwo
Adeola Fayemiwo is a Nigerian economist and second-year BSc Economics undergraduate student at the University of Manchester. Alongside her studies, Adeola is treasurer of the BSc Economics society, student representative of her cohort on the BSc programme and vice president of the African and Caribbean Society. She hopes to pursue a PhD in Economics and is in the process of attaining her ACCA qualification. Aside from economics, she enjoys travelling and art.
