Shirley Kallek

Shirley Kallek (November 23, 1926 in Roselle, New Jersey – May 20, 1983) was an American economic statistician known for her work at the United States Census Bureau.[1] She was president of the Caucus for Women in Statistics[2] and of the Washington Statistical Society.[3]

Shirley Kallek
Born(1926-11-23)November 23, 1926
Roselle, New Jersey, United States
DiedMay 20, 1983(1983-05-20) (aged 56)
Alma materHunter College (BEc)
New York University (MA)
OccupationEconomic statistician
EmployerUnited States Census Bureau
OrganizationCaucus for Women in Statistics
Washington Statistical Society
AwardsDepartment of Commerce Gold Medal

Biography

Early life and education

Kallek was born on November 23, 1926, in Roselle, New Jersey.[4][5] She did her undergraduate studies at Hunter College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1947. She completed a master's degree in 1949 at New York University.[4][5]

Career

After completing her studies, Kallek took a position as an analyst for the National Air Transportation Association, but resigned because she was paid roughly half of the salary for new male employees, and was offered only a 10% raise when she complained.[6] She started her own consulting business in 1950, and began working for the Census Bureau in 1955.[4][6]

In 1970, she became chief of the Economic Statistics and Surveys Division and chief of the Economic Censuses Staff at the Census Bureau.[4][7] She was associate director for economic fields for the census from 1974 to 1983.[6]

Service and later life

Kallek was Jewish. She became one of the founders of Temple Micah in Washington, DC, and the temple's first treasurer.[8] She also served as president of the Caucus for Women in Statistics in 1980,[2] and as president of the Washington Statistical Society for 1981–1982.[3]

She died from cancer on May 20, 1983.[9]

Recognition

Kallek was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1972 "for her innovative work in developing new data series, especially on minority business enterprise, and for her outstanding contribution to the improvement of existing industry statistics through effective administration and improved application of computer techniques".[7] She won the Department of Commerce Gold Medal in 1975,[4] and was posthumously given a presidential award for outstanding service for 1983.[10]

For many years after her death, the Shirley Kallek Memorial Lecture was an annual component of the Research Conference of the Census Bureau. The first such lecture was given by Alan Greenspan in 1985.[5]

References
  1. "Shirley Kallek", Notable alumni, United States Census Bureau, retrieved 2018-12-21
  2. Presidents 1971–2017 (PDF), Caucus for Women in Statistics, retrieved 2018-12-19
  3. Washington Statistical Society Past and Present 1896 to 2012 (PDF), Washington Statistical Society, retrieved 2018-12-21
  4. Briefing Handbook: Chief Economist, Bureau of the Census, Bureau of Economic Analysis (PDF), US Department of Commerce, 1977 – via Gerald R. Ford Museum
  5. Waite, Charles E. (1995), "Economic statistics: Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue", Proceedings of the Annual Research Conference of the United States Bureau of the Census, pp. 3–14
  6. Biles, Elmer S. (April 27, 1983), Oral history: Shirley Kallek (PDF), United States Census Bureau, retrieved 2018-12-21
  7. "New ASA Fellows—1972", The American Statistician, 26 (4): 48–49, October 1972, doi:10.1080/00031305.1972.10477369
  8. Early Days, Temple Micah, retrieved 2018-12-21
  9. "In Remembrance of Shirley Kallek", APDU Newsletter, Association of Public Data Users, July 1983; "In Memoriam", Data User News, Bureau of the Census, 18 (6): 1, June 1983; "Shirley Kallek dies of cancer", AMSTAT News, American Statistical Association: 2, 1983
  10. Causey, Mike (February 19, 1984), "Outstanding 1983 Workers Awarded $10,000", Washington Post
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