. our research assistants are typically recent college graduates and most are at least considering further study of economics. these are sought - after positions because our ras have the opportunity to work with the board ’ s leading economists on both research and work that 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches directly supports policymaking. for the summer program students here today, i would encourage you to explore the ra program. serving as an ra either at the federal reserve board or at one of the reserve banks has proven to be a good way to learn more about the profession and prepare for graduate school. i can report that five graduates of last year ’ s program are now working at the board as ras and several are working at reserve banks. for the federal reserve system, our recruitment of ras is a great opportunity to give a wide range of potential newcomers some exposure to what the career pathway of economics looks like. while not all ras go on to further economics education and training, a considerable share do, and thus our diversity efforts have the potential to significantly affect career pathways later on. indeed, at the highest levels of that process, the federal reserve under chair janet yellen and with the strong support of the governors and reserve bank presidents is committed to increasing diversity among the top - ranking staff at the board and among leaders of the reserve banks. in the tradition of the discipline of economics, i have cited empirical support for the argument that diversity is good for economics. i know from my own personal experience we can and must do better, and in that spirit i want to tell you about one of my experiences that might resonate with some of you here. when i served at the treasury department for president obama, one of my responsibilities was to represent the united states in the group of 20 ( g - 20 ) deputy ministers of finance and central bank officials. at one of our negotiating meetings, the nearly 50 officials gathered for a group photo. when this photo was distributed to each of us as a memento, it caused a bit of a stir. i remember a colleague from another delegation doing a double take when he looked at the photo. he turned to me and said “ did you realize you are the only woman in this group? ” i had indeed already noticed that. and i am happy to say that his delegation added a woman after that. since that time, we have seen some particularly noteworthy milestones. at the time, there had been only one woman among the g - 20 countries serving as head of a central bank,

in south africa, and none among the g - 7 advanced economies. since then, two other women have led g20 central banks, and now i have the honor of serving with the first woman to lead the federal reserve, janet yellen. so what ’ s my take away from that experience? it was a good reminder to me that we have to see the challenges that are right in front of our eyes if we want to address them and we should not be satisfied until the people sitting around every decisionmaking table look like america in all its rich diversity. earlier this year, the federal reserve bank of atlanta hired raphael bostic as its president and chief executive officer, the first african - american to lead a reserve bank. i look forward to the day when we have moved far beyond all the firsts, when we can see with satisfaction that the people of the federal reserve fully reflect the characteristics of the american people. we are working hard to get there, but we still have a long way to go. of course, getting to that point in the future starts with people like you and the paths you choose today. you should choose the path where you feel you will make your greatest contribution — the one that is right for you. but if economics seems like a great fit, then choose it with the confidence that you have the capacity to make an important contribution that will be valued. so with that, i will be glad to respond to your questions. 1 amanda bayer and cecilia elena rouse, ( 2016 ) “ diversity in the economics profession : a new attack on an old problem, ” journal of economic perspectives, vol. 30, no. 4 ( fall ), pp. 221 – 42. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches