A paper published in conjunction with a conference on gender and macroeconomics organised by the International Monetary Fund finds monetary policy boards tend to have a more “hawkish approach” to decision-making if women are present.

Authors Donato Masciandaro, Paola Profeta and Davide Romelli have created the first index of gender diversity in monetary policymaking (the “GMP index”) to understand what drives diversity of central bank boards and whether women on these boards affect monetary