Stockholm, Sweden - The Nobel prize in economics was on Monday awarded to American economist Claudia Goldin for her research helping understand the role of women in the labor market.

The Harvard professor, who is the third woman to be awarded the prestigious economics prize, was given the nod "for having advanced our understanding of women's labor market outcomes," the jury said.

"Her research reveals the causes of change, as well as the main sources of the remaining gender gap," it added in a statement.

Globally, about 50% of women participate in the labor market compared to 80% of men, but women earn less and are less likely to reach the top of the career ladder, the prize committee noted.

Of all the Nobels, the economics prize has the fewest number of women laureates, with just two previous winners since it was first awarded in 1969 – Elinor Ostrom in 2009 and Esther Duflo in 2019.

The jury highlighted that Goldin's work's "provided the first comprehensive account of women's earnings and labor market participation through the centuries."

Last year, the honor went to US economists Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig together with former Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke for research on banks in times of turmoil.

The economics prize, set up by the Swedish central bank, was the only award absent from the original five created by scientist Alfred Nobel, sometimes earning it the moniker of "false Nobel."

However, just like the other science prizes, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences decides the winner and finding candidates follows the same process.

Just like the other Nobels, it comes with a gold medal, a diploma, and a prize sum of 11 million Swedish kronor (about $1 million), and laureates receive their prizes from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a lavish prize ceremony in Stockholm.