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The gender promotion gap: what holds back female economists from making a career in central banking?

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  • Lamo, Ana
  • Laeven, Luc

Abstract

The underrepresentation of women in economics is perhaps nowhere as visible as in central banks. This Research Bulletin article uses anonymised personnel data to analyse the career progression of men and women at the European Central Bank (ECB). Women were less likely to be promoted up until 2010, when the ECB issued a statement supporting diversity and took measures to support gender balance. Following this change, the promotion gap disappeared. This masked a lower probability of women applying for promotion, which is partially explained by an aversion to competing, combined with a higher probability of being selected after having applied. Following promotion, women performed better in terms of salary progression, suggesting that the higher probability of being selected is based on merit, not positive discrimination. Thus, organisations such as the ECB should provide training and services that target the competition-related reasons that discourage women from applying for promotion. JEL Classification: D20, J16, J13, L20, M50

Suggested Citation

  • Lamo, Ana & Laeven, Luc, 2019. "The gender promotion gap: what holds back female economists from making a career in central banking?," Research Bulletin, European Central Bank, vol. 63.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbrbu:2019:0063:
    Note: 337346
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Amanda Goodall & Margit Osterloh & Mandy Fong, 2020. "Women Shy Away From Competition – How To Overcome It," CREMA Working Paper Series 2020-21, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D20 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • L20 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - General
    • M50 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - General

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