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Strength in Numbers? Gender Composition, Leadership, and Women’s Influence in Teams

Author

Listed:
  • Christopher F. Karpowitz
  • Stephen D. O’Connell
  • Jessica Preece
  • Olga Stoddard

Abstract

This article studies the effect of team gender composition and leadership on women’s influence in two field experiments. Study 1 finds that male-majority teams accord disproportionately less influence to women and are less likely to choose women to represent the team externally. We replicate this finding in a new context, where we also vary the gender of an assigned team leader. We find that a female leader substantially increases women’s influence, even in male-majority teams. With a model of discriminatory voting, we show that either increasing women's share or assigning a female leader decreases the penalty women face by more than 50%.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher F. Karpowitz & Stephen D. O’Connell & Jessica Preece & Olga Stoddard, 2024. "Strength in Numbers? Gender Composition, Leadership, and Women’s Influence in Teams," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 132(9), pages 3077-3114.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/729578
    DOI: 10.1086/729578
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    Cited by:

    1. Contreras, Valentina & Orsini, Chiara & Özcan, Berkay & Koehler, Johann, 2025. "Effects of team diversity on individual performance and voice: A field experiment of group composition by gender and language," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    2. Takahashi, Yuki, 2025. "Corrections and Gender in Team Collaboration," Discussion Paper 2025-008, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    3. Valencia,Christian & Janzen,Sarah Ann & Ghorpade,Yashodhan & Abdur Rahman,Amanina Binti, 2024. "Soft Skills, Competition, and Hiring Discrimination," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10755, The World Bank.
    4. Schoonjans, Eline, 2024. "From diversity to sustainability: Environmental and social spillover effects of board gender quotas," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 314-331.
    5. Contreras Silva, Valentina & Orsini, Chiara & Özcan, Berkay & Koehler, Johann, 2025. "Effects of team diversity on individual performance and voice: a field experiment of group composition by gender and language," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 128788, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Xiaoyue Shan, 2026. "Gender Diversity Improves Performance but Reinforces Gendered Roles," CESifo Working Paper Series 12565, CESifo.
    7. Daniel Stockemer & Gabriela Galassi & Engi Abou-El-Kheir, 2025. "A Fresh Look at the Publication and Citation Gap Between Men and Women: Insights from Economics and Political Science," Staff Working Papers 25-13, Bank of Canada.
    8. Menaka Hampole & Francesca Truffa & Ashley Wong, 2024. "Peer Effects and the Gender Gap in Corporate Leadership: Evidence from MBA Students," CESifo Working Paper Series 11295, CESifo.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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