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on Gender |
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Issue of 2025–05–26
eight papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Kunze, Astrid (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration); Scharfenkamp, Katrin (Dept. of Sports Science, Bielefeld University) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the interplay of co-determination law and board gender quotas using novel board-director panel data for Norway. We present descriptive evidence suggesting that boards with employee representatives on boards of directors were more gender diverse before the gender quota. Difference-in-differences estimation results reveal that the differential effect of employee representation on gender diversity is negative after implementing the quota. Boards with employee representatives have recruited fewer women during the phase-in period and the flexible quota tended to be ineffective. We interpret the effect through employee representation as a potential mediating factor of board gender quotas on gender diversity. |
| Keywords: | Employee representation; boards of directors; gender; leadership affirmative action; public policy; shareholder directors; firm size |
| JEL: | G34 J16 J51 J53 J78 M54 |
| Date: | 2025–05–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2025_012 |
| By: | Si, Yafei; Chen, Gang; Zhou, Zhongliang; Yip, Winnie; Chen, Xi |
| Abstract: | Despite growing evidence of gender disparities in healthcare utilization and health outcomes, there is a lack of understanding of what may drive such differences. We present novel evidence on the impact of physician-patient gender match on healthcare quality using the standardized patients (SPs) method in an experiment. The experiment collected interactions between standardized patients and physicians in a primary care setting in China during 2017-2018. We find that, compared with female physicians treating female SPs, female physicians treating male SPs resulted in a 23.4 percentage-point increase in correct diagnosis and a 19.0 percentage-point increase in correct drug prescriptions. Despite these substantial gains in healthcare quality, there was no significant increase in medical costs or time investment. The gains in healthcare quality were partly attributed to better physician-patient communications, but not the presence of more clinical information. More importantly, female physicians treating male SPs prescribed more unnecessary tests but fewer unnecessary drugs to balance their time commitment and costs. The results suggest the potential role of cultural gender norms and physician defensive behavior when female physicians treat male SPs. Our findings imply that improving patient centeredness may lead to significant gains in the quality of healthcare with modest costs, while reducing gender differences in care quality. |
| Keywords: | gender disparities, healthcare quality, standardized patient, experiment, China |
| JEL: | I11 I12 I14 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1607 |
| By: | Görlitz, Katja (Hochschule der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (HdBA)); Sels, Tim (UC Berkeley) |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes the gender gap in self- and peer evaluations based on a laboratory experiment. Five players performed a creativity task in a high-stakes winner-takes-all tournament. The treatment without validation informed all players that evaluations that they will conduct determine who will win. The treatment with public validation additionally informed them that they can see an objective performance measure of all players (including themselves) at the end of the experiment which is irrelevant for winning. The results show that men give themselves better selfevaluations compared to women when there is no validation. This gender difference vanishes completely when providing public validation. |
| Keywords: | self-evaluation, peer evaluation, public validation, gender |
| JEL: | J16 M50 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17877 |
| By: | Daniel Stockemer; Gabriela Galassi; Engi Abou-El-Kheir |
| Abstract: | In recent years, significant efforts have been made to attract more women into academia and to support their careers, with the goal of increasing their representation. Using novel data for economics and political science, collected through web-scraping the corresponding departments of the top 50 universities worldwide, we document three key findings: (i) female scholars, on average, publish less and receive fewer citations than their male counterparts; (ii) this gap is smaller at junior ranks in both disciplines; and (iii) the gap decreases in departments with a higher proportion of female scholars, particularly in political science, where female faculty representation is generally higher compared to economics. Gaps do not differ significantly by field in economics, where a substantial proportion of women are concentrated in microeconomic subfields. Overall, our results underscore a persistent publication and citation gap between men and women in both disciplines, primarily driven by full professors, while suggesting that this gap diminishes in departments with greater sex balance among faculty. |
| Keywords: | Labour markets |
| JEL: | J16 I23 A14 J71 J44 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocawp:25-13 |
| By: | Niklas Potrafke; Luisa Dörr; Klaus Gründler; Tuuli Tähtinen; Luisa Dörr |
| Abstract: | Does electing female politicians increase women’s political representation? Using a difference-in-differences design on a comprehensive cross-national dataset, we find that the first election of a female incumbent systematically increases the share of women in government. To address selection concerns, we apply the synthetic control method to a unique case of exogenous government change: the appointment of Germany’s first female state prime minister in 1993 — without a state election. Our findings provide causal evidence that her entry led to a lasting rise in women’s political representation, highlighting how even one influential woman can help others ascend to high political office. |
| Keywords: | political leaders, gender gap in politics, political participation, political representation, gender composition. |
| JEL: | J16 D72 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11851 |
| By: | Julia Peter (Friedrich Schiller University Jena); Jana Schuetz (Jonkoping International Business School) |
| Abstract: | Financial literacy is an important prerequisite for making informed financial decisions, but it remains low, especially among women and older people. Internalized stereotypes can undermine confidence and subsequently affect behavior in financial matters, leading to suboptimal decisions. This paper investigates how stereotype salience affects confidence in financial literacy. In an information provision experiment, we inform respondents about age or gender differences in numeracy to examine the impact on financial literacy, confidence, hypothetical investment and saving decisions, and demand for information and education. We find that being informed about age differences has no significant effect. In contrast, being informed about gender differences increases the confidence of male respondents through a stereotype boost, while leaving female respondents largely unaffected. |
| Keywords: | survey experiment, numeracy, gender stereotypes, age stereotypes |
| JEL: | C90 D91 G53 I24 J16 |
| Date: | 2025–05–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2025-0007 |
| By: | Javier Olivera (Economics and Research Department, National Bank of Belgium); Warn N. Lekfuangfu (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid); Philippe Van Kerm, (University of Luxembourg) |
| Abstract: | Drawing on two data sources from across Europe, we show that both bequest motives of parents and children’s gender composition shape unequal divisions of bequests. First, the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe reveals that observed bequests are divided unequally when children differ in sex, caregiving, or income, with bequest motives strongest among mixed-sex children. Second, in a vignette experiment featuring alternative bequest motive scenarios and randomised gender compositions for two fictitious children, hypothetical bequests are most unequally divided under the exchange motive while children’s gender composition matters more under the altruistic motive. Fictitious parents favour daughters regardless of deservingness, granting the highest bequest share to a deserving daughter with a brother. In return, these patterns reinforce traditional gender norms. |
| Keywords: | Bequest, Intergenerational transfers, Gender, Vignette Experiment, Deservingness, Altruism, Exchange, Europe, HFCS, SHARE. |
| JEL: | H24 D31 D63 E62 H53 E25 J23 O33 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:202505-476 |
| By: | Sugat Chaturvedi; Rochana Chaturvedi |
| Abstract: | Generative artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large language models (LLMs), is being rapidly deployed in recruitment and for candidate shortlisting. We audit several mid-sized open-source LLMs for gender bias using a dataset of 332, 044 real-world online job postings. For each posting, we prompt the model to recommend whether an equally qualified male or female candidate should receive an interview callback. We find that most models tend to favor men, especially for higher-wage roles. Mapping job descriptions to the Standard Occupational Classification system, we find lower callback rates for women in male-dominated occupations and higher rates in female-associated ones, indicating occupational segregation. A comprehensive analysis of linguistic features in job ads reveals strong alignment of model recommendations with traditional gender stereotypes. To examine the role of recruiter identity, we steer model behavior by infusing Big Five personality traits and simulating the perspectives of historical figures. We find that less agreeable personas reduce stereotyping, consistent with an agreeableness bias in LLMs. Our findings highlight how AI-driven hiring may perpetuate biases in the labor market and have implications for fairness and diversity within firms. |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2504.21400 |