Mary L. Rigdon is a behavioral and experimental economist with a Ph.D. in Economics from the
University of Arizona. Dr. Rigdon is the Director of the Freedom Center and an Associate Professor
in the Department of Political Economy and Moral Science at the University of Arizona. Since joining
FC, she has worked on several initiatives: establishing our Visiting Fellows program, creating and
organizing our Public Discussion Forum series, and launching a Philosophy, Politics, Economics and
Law Undergraduate Summer School, joint with the University of San Diego and Chapman University.
Dr. Rigdon is an expert on the gender wage gap. Her research explores what incentives motivate
women to compete as much as men in the labor market and aims to provide relevant policy information
to help organizations attract more women to leadership roles in competitive workplaces. Her recent
research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Evolution and
Human Behavior. She was competitively selected to present this research at the UA Wonder House at
2023SXSW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnNUwzZNVH8. She has presented in the National
Science Foundation’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Distinguished Lecture Series, offered the keynote
address to ACEE’s Invest in Girls launch, and recently spoke to the Arizona Department of Economic
Security honoring “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion”.
Dr. Rigdon has been interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Network, Rosemary Counter for
the Financial Times, ABC15, KOLD News 13, KVOA News 4, KPNX 12 News, Arizona Public Media,
KJZZ, and The Daily Beast. To see more, please visit her press page: https://maryrigdon.org/
press.
