Barbara Bergmann
| Barbara Bergmann | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 July 1927 |
| Died | 5 April 2015 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) | Fred Bergmann |
| Institution |
Brandeis University Brookings Institution University of Maryland American University |
| Field | Economics, Feminist economics |
| Alma mater | Cornell University, Harvard University |
| Influences | Gunnar Myrdal |
| Awards | 2004 Carolyn Shaw Bell Award |
Barbara Rose Bergmann (20 July 1927 – 5 April 2015) was an important feminist economist. Her work covers many topics from childcare and gender issues to poverty and Social Security. Bergmann was a co-founder and President of the International Association for Feminist Economics, a trustee of the Economists for Peace and Security, and Professor Emerita of Economics at the University of Maryland and American University.
Bergmann's parents and grandparents, fleeing anti-Semitism, immigrated to the United States from Europe in 1914. She was born in 1927 to a Romanian-born mother and Polish-born father in the Bronx. Her parents worked instead of finishing school, but they expected Barbara to adhere to the standards and traditions of American life and eventually go to college. At the age of five, she started formulating ideas about feminism, pursuing equality for men and women, because she wanted to be an independent person when she grew up, and that required money and equality. During the Great Depression, Bergmann developed a strong belief that the government should provide resources and help to individuals who faced uncontrollable circumstances or did not have the resources and knowledge to provide for themselves.
Bergmann received a scholarship to Cornell University and majored in mathematics. While in college pursuing her love for “creating models of simple processes that might or might not resemble what goes on in the actual economy,” she discovered Gunnar Myrdal’s book An American Dilemma that told of the racial inequality in the South. Myrdal’s book ignited an interest in race discrimination that eventually developed into a concern for sex discrimination and followed Bergmann throughout her career.
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