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The gender promotion gap: evidence from central banking

Author

Listed:
  • Laura Hospido

    (Banco de EspaÑa and IZA)

  • Luc Laeven

    (European Central Bank and CEPR)

  • Ana Lamo

    (European Central Bank)

Abstract

We examine gender differences in career progression and promotions in central banking, a stereotypical male-dominated occupation, using confidential anonymized personnel data from the European Central Bank (ECB) during the period 2003-2017. A wage gap emerges between men and women within a few years of hiring, despite broadly similar entry conditions in terms of salary levels and other observables. We also find that women are less likely to be promoted to a higher salary band up until 2010 when the ECB issued a public statement supporting diversity and took several measures to support gender balance. Following this change, the promotion gap disappears. The gender promotion gap prior to this policy change is partly driven by the presence of children. Using 2012-2017 data on promotion applications and decisions, we explore the promotion process in depth, and confirm that during this most recent period women are as likely to be promoted as men. This results from a lower probability of women to apply for promotion, combined with a higher probability of women to be selected conditional on having applied. Following promotion, women perform better in terms of salary progression, suggesting that the higher probability to be selected is based on merit, not positive discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Hospido & Luc Laeven & Ana Lamo, 2019. "The gender promotion gap: evidence from central banking," Working Papers 1915, Banco de España.
  • Handle: RePEc:bde:wpaper:1915
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Ghazala Azmat & Vicente Cunãt & Emeric Henry, 2020. "Gender Promotion Gaps: Career Aspirations and Workplace Discrimination," Sciences Po Economics Discussion Papers 2019-17, Sciences Po Departement of Economics.
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    5. Farré, Lídia & Ortega, Francesc, 2021. "Family Ties, Geographic Mobility and the Gender Gap in Academic Aspirations," IZA Discussion Papers 14561, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. 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).
    7. 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.
    8. Riefler, Raul & Tosun, Onur Kemal & Baeckström, Ylva, 2023. "The role of gender in sales behaviour: Evidence from institutional financial brokerage," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PA).
    9. Farré, Lídia & Ortega, Francesc, 2019. "Selecting Talent: Gender Differences in Participation and Success in Competitive Selection Processes," IZA Discussion Papers 12530, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Th'eo Durandard, 2023. "Dynamic delegation in promotion contests," Papers 2308.05668, arXiv.org.
    11. Andri Chassamboulli & Demetris Koursaros, 2022. "Career and Non-Career Jobs: Dangling the Carrot," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 07-2022, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    12. Simona Malovana & Martin Hodula & Zuzana Rakovska, 2020. "Researching the Research: A Central Banking Edition," Research and Policy Notes 2020/03, Czech National Bank.
    13. Luz A. Florez & Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra & Carlos Esteban Posada, 2021. "Estimating the reservation wage across city groups in Colombia: A stochastic frontier approach," Borradores de Economia 1163, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    14. Ghazala Azmat & Vicente Cunãt & Emeric Henry, 2020. "Gender Promotion Gaps: Career Aspirations and Workplace Discrimination," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03393067, HAL.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender gaps; working histories; promotions; central banking;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

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