Jean Due was one of the first trailblazing female economists of her time. In 2016, TIME Magazine featured her as one of the “Most-Read Female Writers in College Classes.” Due’s specialty was focused in agricultural and development economics, but her humanitarian efforts made her stand out from her colleagues. Over the span of 40 years, she made over 40 trips to East Africa to continue her research. She sponsored, motivated, and mentored many African women to study in the University of Illinois. Both of these ventures were not mutually exclusive because Due implemented the type of economic change she hoped to see in the world especially in providing women who are less privileged with an education to develop their societies back home. Jean Due was 95 when she passed away on Nov.27, 2016. Marianne Ferber
Marianne Ferber was a Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois where she taught for 38 years. Her distinguishable contributions to the feminist economic theory specifically in co-editing the famous anthology Beyond Economic Man: Feminist Theory and Economics, amongst many other books and articles, commenced her to become a leading woman and academic in her field. She was a founding member of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) and served as its president from 1995-96. She was also head of the Women’s Studies department for two nonconsecutive terms. Ferber was very passionate about advocating for the rights of women in the labor force as this also affected her work life before she was a full professor at the U of I.
