Professor Mary Morgan (left) and Professor Almudena Sevilla (right)
LSE academics Professor Almudena Sevilla and Professor Mary S. Morgan have been recognised in the New Year Honours List 2025.
Professor Almudena Sevilla from the Department of Social Policy has been appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her contributions to economics and the advancement of women in the field.
Professor Sevilla is known for her research on the economic role of women and how policies like pay transparency and anti-harassment laws optimise talent allocation and productivity, leading to stronger, more sustainable growth.
She recently founded and currently chairs and Royal Economic Society’s UK Women in Economics Network (UK WEN), which provides mentorship and networking opportunities for women economists across academia, the public sector, and private industry.
Professor Sevilla has secured competitive research funding, including the distinguished European Research Council Consolidator Grant, exceeding £1.5 million, to advance her work. Early in her career, she was awarded the prestigious Marie J. Langlois Prize for her doctoral research, which laid the groundwork for her significant contributions to gender economics and the role of women in the economics profession.
Commenting on the award, Professor Sevilla said: “Receiving the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Economics and to Women in Economics is a profound honour. This recognition highlights the importance of our collective efforts in deepening our understanding of how gender inequalities impact the economy and the economics discipline itself.
“It is as much a personal achievement as a tribute to the work of countless individuals and organisations who have joined me in this endeavour. It motivates me to continue pushing the boundaries of economic thought, while striving to ensure that the next generation of economists, particularly women, have the opportunities and support to thrive in the profession. I hope this award will inspire continued progress, both in research and policy, and contribute to the broader goal of achieving gender equality.”
Professor Mary S. Morgan, the Albert O. Hirschman Professor of History and Philosophy of Economics in the Department of Economic History, was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list in recognition of her services “to the Economics Profession and to Social Science”.
Professor Morgan’s research contributions focus on the history, philosophy and sociology of science, particularly on economics and the social sciences. She has won many major research grants: a BA Research Readership (on models in economics); a Leverhulme/ESRC programme grant (on the nature of evidence: ‘travelling facts’); a BA Wolfson Research Professorship (on case studies in the social sciences); and a European Research Council advanced investigator grant (on the use of narrative in the sciences).
In 2002, she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (BA) and an Overseas Fellow of the KNAW (The Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Science). She was elected to the Council of the Royal Economic Society (RES) in 2016, and became actively involved in the Society’s recent growth and development, serving as President of the Society 2023-4. She also contributed to the intellectual agenda of the British Academy, serving as its Vice President for Publications 2014-18.
Commenting on the award, Professor Morgan said: “My research aims have been to illuminate the various ways that social science, particularly economics, has played in shaping the ways our societies are organised and governed; and thence to frame these insights in ways that might help society make good use of our social sciences in the future. My service to the RES especially has provided a stronger sense of that mission and its importance. I am delighted that my service and contributions to social science and the economics profession have been honoured in this way.”