Power in Numbers

Melissa Bray is an economist, a former Treasury senior executive, and has worked as an adviser to two Treasury ministers. A member of the executive committee of the ACT Women in Economics Network, she works as a freelance journalist, and has edited two publications. Her first book, Australian Carillonists, was highly commended in the 2025 ACT Literary Awards.Catie Bradbear is an economist and senior executive with the Productivity Commission who has delivered inquiries on pressing economic, social and environmental issues. She has advocated strongly for greater representation of women in economics, through leading mentoring programs and as an inaugural member of the executive committee of the ACT Women in Economics Network.

'The "dismal science" just got brighter. Turns out women have always been in economics; we just haven't seen them. This long overdue book attempts to right that wrong. Lively and well-documented, this book ensures women economists are invisible no more.' Sheryle Bagwell'This book does exactly what it says on the tin - empowering us with numbers: 16 is the number of exceptional women profiled here, 18 years is the time since the first woman became the chief economist of an Australian Bank; and 2025 the year in which women came to run the top 3 economic institutions in Australia. Two hundred and twenty-eight pages of inspiration.' Michelle Ryan'An uplifting account of what real economists have done to improve the lives of real people. If you are wondering whether you can make a difference, this book will set you right.' Peter Martin'This is a remarkable book about remarkable people who have done remarkable things.' Chris Richardson'Power in Numbers tells the stories of how 16 women, over two hundred years, have helped us understand how the Australian economy works, how it has changed, and how it could be made to work better through better economic policies. I hope these stories will inspire more women to follow in their footsteps.' - Saul Eslake'Original well-researched insights into the personal career journeys of some of our leading economists.' - John Kehoe'The history of economics in Australia is dominated by stories of sheep, miners and men. Women, their contribution to the economic development of the country and their role in economic policy, have been shunted to the margins. This book, however, brings them to the centre stage and reveals their importance to Australians' way of life.' - Shane Wright