Shirley Kallek
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Shirley Kallek (November 23, 1926 in
Roselle, New Jersey Roselle ( ) is a borough located in Union County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 22,695, an increase of 1,610 (+7.6%) from the 2010 census count of 21,085, which in turn ref ...
– May 20, 1983) was an American economic statistician known for her work at the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
. She was president of the
Caucus for Women in Statistics The Caucus for Women in Statistics and Data Science (CWS) is a professional society for women in statistics, data science and related fields. It was founded in 1971, following discussions in 1969 and 1970 at the annual meetings of the American Sta ...
and of the Washington Statistical Society.


Biography


Early life and education

Kallek was born on November 23, 1926, in
Roselle, New Jersey Roselle ( ) is a borough located in Union County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 22,695, an increase of 1,610 (+7.6%) from the 2010 census count of 21,085, which in turn ref ...
. She did her undergraduate studies at
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...
, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1947. She completed a master's degree in 1949 at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
.


Career

After completing her studies, Kallek took a position as an analyst for the
National Air Transportation Association The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is the public policy group that represents the interests of the general aviation business community before the Congress and federal, state and local government agencies. NATA, founded in 1940, re ...
, 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. She started her own consulting business in 1950, and began working for the Census Bureau in 1955. In 1970, she became chief of the Economic Statistics and Surveys Division and chief of the Economic Censuses Staff at the Census Bureau. She was associate director for economic fields for the census from 1974 to 1983.


Service and later life

Kallek was Jewish. She became one of the founders of Temple Micah in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and the temple's first treasurer. She also served as president of the
Caucus for Women in Statistics The Caucus for Women in Statistics and Data Science (CWS) is a professional society for women in statistics, data science and related fields. It was founded in 1971, following discussions in 1969 and 1970 at the annual meetings of the American Sta ...
in 1980, and as president of the Washington Statistical Society for 1981–1982. She died from cancer on May 20, 1983.


Recognition

Kallek 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 designation of ASA Fellow has been a sign ...
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". She won the
Department of Commerce Gold Medal Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in 1975, and was posthumously given a presidential award for outstanding service for 1983. 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 Alan Greenspan (born March 6, 1926) is an American economist who served as the 13th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006. He worked as a private adviser and provided consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates L ...
in 1985.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kallek, Shirley 1926 births 1983 deaths People from Roselle, New Jersey 20th-century American Jews American women statisticians Hunter College alumni New York University alumni Fellows of the American Statistical Association Department of Commerce Gold Medal 20th-century American women