<p>Janet Yellen became an economist at a time when few women entered the profession and fewer still rose in a male-dominated environment. She is now poised to become the first female Secretary of the Treasury and one of few people to ever have wielded economic power from the White House, the Federal Reserve and the President’s Cabinet.</p>.<p>Her expected nomination would come as rebuilding a US economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic and saddled with high unemployment presents a central challenge for President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.</p>.<p>While Yellen is not the type of firebrand nominee some progressives might have hoped for — she has warned that the United States is borrowing too much money, a fact that some liberals count against her — she has paid consistent, careful attention to inequality and labor market outcomes, even when doing so earned her backlash from lawmakers.</p>.<p>As the chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, Yellen also oversaw an extremely slow set of interest rate increases as she and her colleagues tested whether unemployment could fall further without leading to higher prices.</p>.<p>Her patience drew criticism from inflation-wary economists at the time, but the policies laid the groundwork for a strong labour market and a record-long expansion that drove unemployment to its lowest rate in 50 years before the pandemic turned the world upside down.</p>.<p>Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, one of the most prominent progressive Democrats in Congress, wrote on Twitter that Yellen “would be an outstanding choice for Treasury Secretary.”</p>.<p>But she faces a steep challenge: As Treasury secretary, Yellen will be at the forefront of navigating the economic fallout created by a pandemic that continues to inflict damage. While growth is recovering from earlier coronavirus-related lockdowns, infections are climbing and local governments are restricting activity again, most likely slowing that rebound.</p>.<p>Yellen has been a clear champion of continued government support for workers and businesses, publicly warning that a lack of aid to state and local governments could slow recovery, much as it did in the aftermath of the Great Recession, when Yellen was leading the Fed.</p>
<p>Janet Yellen became an economist at a time when few women entered the profession and fewer still rose in a male-dominated environment. She is now poised to become the first female Secretary of the Treasury and one of few people to ever have wielded economic power from the White House, the Federal Reserve and the President’s Cabinet.</p>.<p>Her expected nomination would come as rebuilding a US economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic and saddled with high unemployment presents a central challenge for President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.</p>.<p>While Yellen is not the type of firebrand nominee some progressives might have hoped for — she has warned that the United States is borrowing too much money, a fact that some liberals count against her — she has paid consistent, careful attention to inequality and labor market outcomes, even when doing so earned her backlash from lawmakers.</p>.<p>As the chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, Yellen also oversaw an extremely slow set of interest rate increases as she and her colleagues tested whether unemployment could fall further without leading to higher prices.</p>.<p>Her patience drew criticism from inflation-wary economists at the time, but the policies laid the groundwork for a strong labour market and a record-long expansion that drove unemployment to its lowest rate in 50 years before the pandemic turned the world upside down.</p>.<p>Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, one of the most prominent progressive Democrats in Congress, wrote on Twitter that Yellen “would be an outstanding choice for Treasury Secretary.”</p>.<p>But she faces a steep challenge: As Treasury secretary, Yellen will be at the forefront of navigating the economic fallout created by a pandemic that continues to inflict damage. While growth is recovering from earlier coronavirus-related lockdowns, infections are climbing and local governments are restricting activity again, most likely slowing that rebound.</p>.<p>Yellen has been a clear champion of continued government support for workers and businesses, publicly warning that a lack of aid to state and local governments could slow recovery, much as it did in the aftermath of the Great Recession, when Yellen was leading the Fed.</p>