“I wanted to be a medical doctor until l realised l was terrified of dead people,” that’s how University of Sussex Business assistant professor in economics Bridget Kauma begins her life story.
The Malawian economist happens to be the first woman to join the McGraw Hill authoring team.
Her co-authors to the 13th edition to Introduction to Economics include David Begg, Eric Golsons, Gianluigi Vernesco, Rudiger Dornbusch and Stanley fischer
“l contributed to macroeconomics chapters and offered fresh perspectives on critical issues, including global economic, impact of war, macro inflation dynamics and Al role in the labour market,” shares Bridget.
She says: “I am proud to be the first woman to join the co-authoring team. It is a significant milestone.
“But at the same time, it highlights where we are coming from as women. This is a lot of progress, particularly in the academics, to see a woman on the authoring team of such a respected book.”
Towards the end of 2021, Bridget received an email from giant academic publisher McGraw Hill saying, “We are working on the 13th edition of the book, Introduction to Economics and we want to survey what educators would like to see in an updated version.”
She warmly accepted the opportunity and proposed possible changes and additions to the book.
The publisher liked her proposals and asked to join the authoring team.
“This is how my authoring journey with McGraw Hill started,” she says.
Bridget recognises that her achievement is a source of encouragement for younger women, that they can rise through the ranks and smash all glass ceilings.
She observes that while economics has been dominated by men, there is also potential for women.
“It is high time women rose to the occasion and believe in themselves that they can do it. They should be women of influence,” says Bridget.
She says her journey to the top has been made possible despite challenges between balancing family and professional obligations because of her supportive husband.
Growing up, Bridget was pushed towards medicine because her father was a medic.
Says Bridget: “Because I grew up around the hospital premises, I was keen on doing medicine. So, I guess living around the hospital sometimes as a child, you play around and in the hospital.
“Then you hear about someone dying. I was really scared of death, something that kept me away from medicine.”
Bridget opted to serve people through economics.
Born in Blantyre and raised in Lilongwe, she started her education journey at Lilongwe Girls Primary School from where she was selected to Likuni Girls Secondary School.
“From Likuni Girls, I went to Chancellor College where I did my bachelor’s degree in social sciences. I studied economics,” she says.
The mother of two says she took the economics route because of her cousin Dr. Zak Chania who was an economist.
“He did a PhD in economics and was working for the government back then under the Ministry of Finance. So, we were close. I was younger, But he impressed me with how he spoke about the world from an economic stand point,” she says.
Bridget was particularly amazed by talks about how we can end poverty, sell goods abroad and produce what is needed for the market.
She adds that lessons in an Agriculture class on demand and supply in secondary school also sparked her desire to deepen her knowledge.
And while studying for her degree, international trade excited her.
“I enjoyed looking at exports. I enjoyed talking about exports, about Malawi’s involvement in commerce.”
When she graduated in 2005, she landed a job in the civil service with the Department of Industry of Trade.
The 43-year-old economist recalls how exciting it was just getting exposed to the practicalities of what she had done in the classroom.
“I was working on commerce and negotiated on Sadc when I was just a trade officer,” says Bridget.
The economist also had the privilege to do internship at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Her stint there deepened her interest in international trade further.
Having gained hands-on experience, she thought about pushing her career a step further.
She enrolled for a master’s degree in economics at Chancellor College in 2007.
Bridget says she was motivated to push her academic credentials by economist Rudy Gatton Bush.
“He had done pioneering work on exchange rates and I would read his articles over and over again. When I was doing my undergraduate degree, I conducted research on exchange rates. During my masters, I also worked on something related to exchange rates,” she says.
The master’s degree did not quench Bridget’s thirst for knowledge.
In 2015 she applied for a PhD at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom.
She says: “They responded, ‘We’re happy to enroll you in a PhD programme, but we can’t offer you a place because you’ve completed an MA.
“You need to first obtain an MSc a Master of Science, rather than a Master of Arts in Economics before proceeding to a PhD.”
Bridget was then offered a place in a one plus three programme, in which if she performed well in her MSc, she would be upgraded to a research degree which she agreed to.
“I initially came on a scholarship for one year and then returned home. Later, I came back because I had graduated as the top of my class and the university awarded me a PhD scholarship. My PhD was fully funded by the university,” shares Bridget with a smile.
She finally graduated and, the university offered her a lectureship.
“And when I started teaching, the book I was using was the same one I had used during my undergraduate days at Chanco, written by Don Bush and Fisher,” says Bridget .
