Ann Ratner Miller (1921 – February 28, 2006) was an American sociologist and

demographer Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...

in the

Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

, described as "a pioneer in the study of human migration and patterns of labor force participation," "part of the first generation of demographers that assembled and analyzed census data to undertake the first systematic study of internal migration within the United States."

Education and early career

Ann Rachel Ratner earned a bachelor's degree in 1943 in sociology from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United Sta ...

. Later in the 1940s, she worked with

Gladys L. Palmer Gladys may refer to: * Gladys (given name), people with the given name Gladys * ''Gladys'' (album), a 2013 album by Leslie Clio * ''Gladys'' (film), 1999 film written and directed by Vojtěch Jasný * Gladys, Virginia, United States * '' Glad ...

in the Department of Industrial Research at the Wharton School; with Palmer she published the 1949 research report ''Industrial and occupational trends in national employment, 1910-1940, 1910-1948''. In the 1950s, she also worked as a statistician for the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...

. She married Ervin Miller, and completed her Ph.D. in sociology in 1962 at the University of Pennsylvania. Her dissertation, supervised by

Dorothy Swaine Thomas Dorothy Swaine Thomas (October 24, 1899 – May 1, 1977) was an American sociologist and economist. She was the 42nd President of the American Sociological Association, the first woman in that role. Life and career Thomas was born on October 24 ...

, was ''State Labor Force Trends and Differentials in the United States from 1870 to 1950''.

Later career

Miller continued working as a researcher in the Population Studies Center of the Wharton School from 1960 to 1971; she was a "founding member" of the center, and remained associated with it for the rest of her career. In 1971, she was appointed as a research associate professor of sociology in the Wharton School, and in 1972, she was elected as a

Fellow of the American Statistical Association Like many other academic professional societies, the American Statistical Association (ASA) uses the title of Fellow of the American Statistical Association as its highest honorary grade of membership. The number of new fellows per year is limited ...

. By 1980, she had become a regular-rank full professor, and the chair of the Committee on Occupational Classification and Analysis of the National Research Council Assembly of Behavioral and Social Sciences. Miller served as editor-in-chief of the journal ''

Demography Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...

'' from 1985 to 1987. She retired in 1987.

Equal pay study

In 1981 Miller chaired a committee of the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

, appointed by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

, that found that women are "systematically underpaid", both by being concentrated in lower-paid positions and by being paid less than men for comparable positions. The committee suggested that a notion of " comparable worth", used to adjudicate legal cases for gender discrimination, could improve the situation, but would not remove disparities caused by discrimination in hiring. Miller knew much of this already from personal experience; her obituary for the

Population Association of America The Population Association of America (PAA) is a non-profit scientific professional association dedicated to the study of issues related to population and demography. The PAA was established by Henry Pratt Fairchild and Frederick Osborn, with f ...

(of which she was first vice president in 1980) writes "Most of her career was spent at a time when it was very difficult for women to receive their due as full participants in science and the academy."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Ann Ratner 1921 births 2006 deaths American sociologists American women sociologists Bryn Mawr College alumni United States Census Bureau people University of Pennsylvania alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania faculty Fellows of the American Statistical Association 20th-century American women 20th-century American people 21st-century American women