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In today’s feature, we speak to Erin McGurk, founder of Girl Economics and Cambridge Economics Offer Holder. On her platform, Erin interviews ambitious and inspiring women daily, sharing their insights and top tips for success in the form of daily articles, explainers, and a myriad of enriching experience opportunities that are open to female students. Today, Erin shares her journey, inspirations, and indispensable advice for Pragmat readers.
Aside from information provision, what inspired you to start working on Girl Economics and what was the pivotal point where you decided to launch it as a platform?
I’ve always really loved to listen to interviews – I think that hearing other people’s stories and journeys is so important. A lot of the time, we see people very two-dimensionally and only focus on their successes rather than their background and how they achieved them.
Often, interviews will gravitate towards the same few people, often men, who are very, very established. While that’s brilliant and insightful nonetheless, a consequence is that there isn’t that diversity in terms of different perspectives. In the UK, there is definitely female representation in politics and economics, but there’s still a huge gap when we consider female representation on aggregate across the world.
With Girl Economics, I aim to push back on the idea of girls being encouraged to find a ‘more appropriate’ degree when applying for finance or economics-related subjects. I’d like young women to read about other women who come from similar backgrounds, look like them, and are achieving incredible things. In turn, I want that to translate into empowerment, where these young women can go on to do similar things.
Erin did a fantastic interview recently with Grace Hardy, an entrepreneur who launched her accounting practice at 21. Check it out right here.
Everyday, Girl Economics features extensive, thorough interviews and discussions with aspirational women – what does the production process for each post look like?
A lot of the interviews are very conversational. I use about 10 minutes of content from each interview for each article, so it takes me about an hour in total. That includes refining my work and sending it to the person in case they would like to amend anything.
What I find more time-consuming, and more important, is reaching out to people whose stories align with what the readers would like to hear about. It’s about finding the balance between those who are willing to speak about themselves, but also provide the most value and insight to people. It’s important that I’m finding guests who align with mine, and ultimately, Girl Economics’ purpose.
It’s very much focused on information provision, which is why I interview girls who have perhaps gone through a less ‘traditional’ route and taken degree apprenticeships. At the end of the day, if I can help people make informed choices that are better for them, that’s always going to be a great thing.
As someone also taking Maths, Further Maths and Physics, what made you decide to pursue a degree in Economics?
I was originally going to do a degree in Maths and Philosophy, but realised I don’t want everything to be just theoretical – I want to see a more practical application to what I’m learning. While economics as an A Level subject can be quite dull in theory, I did find that having that platform for debate, talking about ideas, new perspectives, and having the opportunity to refine my own perspectives was very interesting. That's what drew me towards an economics degree because the way I see it, it is maths and philosophy, but applied to the real world, rather than just in some sort of abstract plane.
If you're interested in studying Economics, check out this video below by the University of Cambridge:
Since founding Girl Economics, do you have any advice for Pragmat readers in terms of stepping out of their comfort zone and embracing new opportunities?
I would wholeheartedly recommend something like Model UN or debate club, because the biggest takeaway from them is that you’re not actually voicing your own opinions. You may be voicing the opinions of a side of the debate that you don't agree with or a country whose values don't align with your own. But I think that opportunity to see a debate from another perspective is something that's so valuable, no matter what social science you're going to to study in the future.
In terms of setting out of your comfort zone, I think there's no better advice than just taking the opportunity you're given. Whether that's giving a speech in class or stepping up for leadership roles like Head Girl or Head Boy at school. Most importantly, it’s about having access to those opportunities to step outside of your comfort zone and grasping them.
Also, have the confidence to reach out to people who are already doing things that you find inspiring. Send someone a message on LinkedIn - the amount of people that I've jumped on calls with, who I never would have thought I would be able to speak to is staggering! Having that confidence can be really powerful.
Talking about the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone, check out this fantastic Ted Talk below by Yubing Zhang:
How do you manage to balance posting daily on Girl Economics, academic life, and your life outside of school?
I love to do a lot of things, and I used to be a competitive swimmer, where I’d be swimming 7-8 times a week. When you’re doing that you have to learn to organise yourself and build your plans around your sport.
The most useful thing for me has been using tools like Notion or Goodnotes, where I can plan and stick to a schedule every day. I know planning doesn't work for everyone, but I personally find that once I've got something written down, I stick to it and my day becomes a lot easier. It makes the tasks you must do much less intimidating.
Having to do an 8 hour block of revision looks much scarier and far less manageable than breaking up your revision into four lots of 2 hours! So I think it's about changing your perspectives on certain things and being disciplined with the tools you're using.
In terms of the future of Girl Economics, do you have any aspirations? Are you considering turning it into a podcast, or bringing in more writers?
Podcasting is definitely on the agenda after A-levels, and I’m looking to expand the team and get some more girls on board. Something I’d very much like to do is connect with Women in Business and Women in Finance societies at different universities, some of which have already been keen on having some in-person events, which I’d love to expand into next year. But expanding the team would allow me to encompass a lot more with Girl Economics.
I know that this is question you ask the women you interview, but I’d like to pose it to you – who or what inspires you the most?
In my personal life, I would have to say my dad. He came from very humble beginnings, has done these brilliant entrepreneurial things, and is so passionate about his business. Every time we're driving down the motorway, he will tell us about this or that development that he's working on, and it's just really interesting to see someone who is so passionate about their work in such a human way. I think that’s really inspiring and helping me to develop this entrepreneurial spirit and the confidence to take on risks!
Outside of my personal life, it would be wrong of me to not say Claudia Goldin after she just won the Nobel Prize in Economics as the first individual woman to do so. What I find inspirational is the fact that her work was also based on an often-overlooked area of women's contributions to the labour market. She approaches the debate in a way that is so different to a lot of ‘feminist economists’ - she never gets angry, she sticks to the facts. She doesn't go for slogans, she doesn't go for headlines, she just presents her work in an academic fashion, in a way trying to raise awareness and show the fact that this is not a problem, but something that exists. I think the way that she goes about doing that is hugely inspirational.
Finally, what three books would you recommend to our readers that have significantly impacted your thinking or approach to life and economics?
The Book Thief: It’s definitely my favourite work of fiction and such a powerful book that speaks for itself.
Human Nature and World Affairs: An Introduction to Classical Liberalism and International Relations Theory: It explains the perspectives of major classical liberal thinkers in such a brilliant way. It's been one of the most critical books in shaping my own understandings and beliefs of the economy and how economics works.
Classical Liberalism - A Primer: If you read the two of them alongside each other, they’re brilliant. I think he's an amazing writer. Sometimes you see yourself in the work, and that is the most powerful thing - when you can see yourself and understand more about yourself.
A huge thank you to Erin for sharing her time with us and providing a fascinating insight into her work at Girl Economics and how she balances it alongside her studies.
We hope this interview has inspired you as much as it has inspired us. Now, we’d love to hear from you! Please let us know what you thought of the interview and leave your comments below on other guests you would like to see featured in this series.
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