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The gender gap in performance reviews

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  • Abraham, Lisa

Abstract

Performance reviews are correlated with compensation, promotion, and career decisions in the labor market. Using data from Reflektive, formerly an employee performance management company, I examine gender differences in over 100,000 performance reviews for 170 companies across 12 different industries. I find that women rate their performance lower than men, and these differences persist when accounting for external manager and peer reviews of the worker's performance. The gender gap in how women versus men rate themselves as compared to their managers persists across different types of industries, firms, reviewers, and workers, highlighting the generalizability of the results. These findings may have implications for self-promotion in other high-stakes labor market settings.

Suggested Citation

  • Abraham, Lisa, 2023. "The gender gap in performance reviews," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 459-492.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:214:y:2023:i:c:p:459-492
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2023.07.039
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    Cited by:

    1. Anastasia Litina & Luca J. Uberti & Skerdilajda Zanaj, 2023. "Women Directors and Cost Efficiency," DEM Discussion Paper Series 23-18, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    2. Abraham, Lisa & Hallermeier, Johannes & Stein, Alison, 2024. "Words matter: Experimental evidence from job applications," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 348-391.
    3. repec:mcd:mcddps:2024_09 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Bohnet, Iris & Hauser, Oliver P. & Kristal, Ariella S., 2025. "Can gender and race dynamics in performance appraisals be disrupted? The case of social influence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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