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The Gender Gap in Self-Promotion

Author

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  • Christine L. Exley
  • Judd B. Kessler

Abstract

In job applications, job interviews, performance reviews, and a wide range of other environ-ments, individuals are explicitly asked or implicitly invited to assess their own performance. In a series of experiments, we ?nd that women rate their performance less favorably than equally performing men. This gender gap in self-promotion is notably persistent. It stays just as strong when we eliminate gender di?erences in con?dence about performance and when we eliminate strategic incentives to engage in self-promotion. Because of the prevalence of self-promotion opportunities, this self-promotion gap may contribute to the persistent gender gap in education and labor market outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Christine L. Exley & Judd B. Kessler, 2019. "The Gender Gap in Self-Promotion," Working Papers 2019-058, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2019-058
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Catherine Eckel & Lata Gangadharan & Philip J. Grossman & Nina Xue, 2021. "The gender leadership gap: insights from experiments," Chapters, in: Ananish Chaudhuri (ed.), A Research Agenda for Experimental Economics, chapter 7, pages 137-162, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Julia R. Falconer & Eibe Frank & Devon L. L. Polaschek & Chaitanya Joshi, 2022. "Methods for Eliciting Informative Prior Distributions: A Critical Review," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 19(3), pages 189-204, September.
    4. Itzik Fadlon & Frederik Plesner Lyngse & Torben Heien Nielsen, 2022. "Early Career Setbacks and Women’s Career-Family Trade-Off," CEBI working paper series 22-06, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    5. Haeckl, Simone, 2022. "Image concerns in ex-ante self-assessments–Gender differences and behavioral consequences," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    6. Ina Ganguli & Marieke Huysentruyt & Chloé Le Coq, 2021. "How Do Nascent Social Entrepreneurs Respond to Rewards? A Field Experiment on Motivations in a Grant Competition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(10), pages 6294-6316, October.
    7. Oriana Bandiera & Nidhi Parekh & Barbara Petrongolo & Michelle Rao, 2022. "Men are from Mars, and Women Too: A Bayesian Meta‐analysis of Overconfidence Experiments," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(S1), pages 38-70, June.
    8. Banerjee, Ritwik & Mustafi, Priyoma, 2020. "Using Social Recognition to Address the Gender Difference in Volunteering for Low Promotability Tasks," IZA Discussion Papers 13956, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Zoë Cullen & Ricardo Perez-Truglia, 2023. "The Old Boys' Club: Schmoozing and the Gender Gap," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(7), pages 1703-1740, July.
    10. Joyce He & Sonia Kang & Nicola Lacetera, 2019. "Leaning In or Not Leaning Out? Opt-Out Choice Framing Attenuates Gender Differences in the Decision to Compete," NBER Working Papers 26484, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Saygin, Perihan O. & Atwater, Ann, 2021. "Gender differences in leaving questions blank on high-stakes standardized tests," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    12. Briscese, Guglielmo & Zanella, Giulio & Quinn, Veronica, 2020. "Improving Job Search Skills: A Field Experiment on Online Employment Assistance," IZA Discussion Papers 13170, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Eugen Dimant & Kyle Hyndman, 2019. "Becoming Friends or Foes? How Competitive Environments Shape Social Preferences," Discussion Papers 2019-18, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    14. Lee, Logan M. & Waddell, Glen R., 2021. "Diversity and the timing of preference in hiring decisions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 432-459.
    15. Barbara Biasi & Heather Sarsons, 2020. "Flexible Wages, Bargaining, and the Gender Gap," NBER Working Papers 27894, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Benjamin Hansen & Drew McNichols, 2020. "Information and the Persistence of the Gender Wage Gap: Early Evidence from California's Salary History Ban," NBER Working Papers 27054, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Shanthi Manian & Ketki Sheth, 2021. "Follow My Lead: Assertive Cheap Talk and the Gender Gap," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(11), pages 6880-6896, November.
    18. Huang, Jennie & Low, Corinne, 2022. "The myth of the male negotiator: Gender’s effect on negotiation strategies and outcomes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 517-532.
    19. Sharma, Karmini & Castagnetti, Alessandro, 2023. "Demand for information by gender: An experimental study," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 172-202.
    20. Li, Cher H & Zafar, Basit, 2020. "Ask and You Shall Receive? Gender Differences in Regrades in College," IZA Discussion Papers 12983, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    promotion; gender gap; performance incentives;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - General
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior

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