IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-03873828.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Gender Diversity in Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Ghazala Azmat

    (ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEP - LSE - Centre for Economic Performance - LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Anne Boring

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam, LIEPP - Laboratoire interdisciplinaire d'évaluation des politiques publiques (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po)

Abstract

This paper explores the recent efforts by the corporate world and public policy to increase the number of women in leadership positions in the workplace. We review and empirically evaluate the ‘business case' for gender equality, showing some evidence in favour of it. Despite the evidence and growing support, progress towards more diversity in leadership positions has been slow. We study the importance of supply-side constraints, as well as the main diversity policies (gender quotas, mentoring and network programmes, diversity training to change firm culture, and family friendly policies) that have been implemented. We focus on the effectiveness of these policies, their shortcomings, as well as potential future steps that could help guide policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Ghazala Azmat & Anne Boring, 2021. "Gender Diversity in Firms," Post-Print hal-03873828, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03873828
    DOI: 10.1093/oxrep/graa043
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-03873828
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-03873828/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1093/oxrep/graa043?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Heather Antecol & Deborah Cobb‐clark, 2003. "Does Sexual Harassment Training Change Attitudes? A View from the Federal Level," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 84(4), pages 826-842, December.
    2. Morten Bennedsen & Elena Simintzi & Margarita Tsoutsoura & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2022. "Do Firms Respond to Gender Pay Gap Transparency?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(4), pages 2051-2091, August.
    3. Dylan Glover & Amanda Pallais & William Pariente, 2017. "Discrimination as a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Evidence from French Grocery Stores," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(3), pages 1219-1260.
    4. Clément Bosquet & Pierre‐Philippe Combes & Cecilia García‐Peñalosa, 2019. "Gender and Promotions: Evidence from Academic Economists in France," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 121(3), pages 1020-1053, July.
    5. David A. Matsa & Amalia R. Miller, 2013. "A Female Style in Corporate Leadership? Evidence from Quotas," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(3), pages 136-169, July.
    6. 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.
    7. Michael Baker & Yosh Halberstam & Kory Kroft & Alexandre Mas & Derek Messacar, 2023. "Pay Transparency and the Gender Gap," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 157-183, April.
    8. Boring, Anne & Philippe, Arnaud, 2017. "Reducing Discrimination through Norms or Information: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Student Evaluations of Teaching," TSE Working Papers 17-865, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    9. Heather Antecol & Deborah Cobb-Clark, 2004. "The Changing Nature of Employment-Related Sexual Harassment: Evidence from the U.S. Federal Government, 1978–1994," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 57(3), pages 443-461, April.
    10. Heather Antecol & Kelly Bedard & Jenna Stearns, 2018. "Equal but Inequitable: Who Benefits from Gender-Neutral Tenure Clock Stopping Policies?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(9), pages 2420-2441, September.
    11. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/36jvih4hu68rb95obgqoqsjtep is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Claudia Goldin & Lawrence F. Katz, 2016. "A Most Egalitarian Profession: Pharmacy and the Evolution of a Family-Friendly Occupation," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(3), pages 705-746.
    13. V. Joseph Hotz & Per Johansson & Arizo Karimi, 2017. "Parenthood, Family Friendly Workplaces, and the Gender Gaps in Early Work Careers," NBER Working Papers 24173, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Bloom, Nicholas & Van Reenen, John, 2011. "Human Resource Management and Productivity," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 19, pages 1697-1767, Elsevier.
    15. Christopher Avery & Susan Athey & Peter Zemsky, 2000. "Mentoring and Diversity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(4), pages 765-786, September.
    16. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    17. Isabelle Vernos, 2013. "Quotas are questionable," Nature, Nature, vol. 495(7439), pages 39-39, March.
    18. Altonji, Joseph G. & Blank, Rebecca M., 1999. "Race and gender in the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 48, pages 3143-3259, Elsevier.
    19. Astrid Kunze & Amalia R. Miller, 2017. "Women Helping Women? Evidence from Private Sector Data on Workplace Hierarchies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(5), pages 769-775, December.
    20. Claudia Goldin & Lawrence F. Katz, 2011. "The Cost of Workplace Flexibility for High-Powered Professionals," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 638(1), pages 45-67, November.
    21. Olle Folke & Johanna Rickne, 2023. "Sexual Harassment and Gender Inequality in the Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 137(4), pages 2163-2212.
    22. Lena Hensvik & Oskar Nordström Skans, 2016. "Social Networks, Employee Selection, and Labor Market Outcomes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(4), pages 825-867.
    23. Azmat, Ghazala & Hensvik, Lena & Rosenqvist, Olof, 2020. "Workplace presenteeism, job substitutability and gender inequality," Working Paper Series 2020:9, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    24. Ilse Lindenlaub & Anja Prummer, 2021. "Network Structure and Performance," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(634), pages 851-898.
    25. Friebel, Guido & Lalanne, Marie & Richter, Bernard & Schwardmann, Peter & Seabright, Paul, 2017. "Women form social networks more selectively and less opportunistically than men," SAFE Working Paper Series 168, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    26. Joni Hersch, 2011. "Compensating Differentials for Sexual Harassment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 630-634, May.
    27. Rachel Croson & Uri Gneezy, 2009. "Gender Differences in Preferences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(2), pages 448-474, June.
    28. 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.
    29. Michela Carlana, 2019. "Implicit Stereotypes: Evidence from Teachers’ Gender Bias," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1163-1224.
    30. Lea Cassar & Stephan Meier, 2018. "Nonmonetary Incentives and the Implications of Work as a Source of Meaning," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 32(3), pages 215-238, Summer.
    31. Kaushik Basu, 2003. "The Economics and Law of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 17(3), pages 141-157, Summer.
    32. Daehyun Kim & Laura T. Starks, 2016. "Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards: Do Women Contribute Unique Skills?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 267-271, May.
    33. Ana Rute Cardoso & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2010. "Female-Led Firms and Gender Wage Policies," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 64(1), pages 143-163, October.
    34. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3143-3259 is not listed on IDEAS
    35. Luc Behaghel & Bruno Crépon & Thomas Le Barbanchon, 2015. "Unintended Effects of Anonymous Résumés," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(3), pages 1-27, July.
    36. Antecol, Heather & Cobb-Clark, Deborah, 2006. "The sexual harassment of female active-duty personnel: Effects on job satisfaction and intentions to remain in the military," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 55-80, September.
    37. Luc Behaghel & Bruno Crépon & Thomas Le Barbanchon, 2015. "Unintended Effects of Anonymous," PSE - Labex "OSE-Ouvrir la Science Economique" halshs-01203070, HAL.
    38. Claudia Goldin, 2014. "A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1091-1119, April.
    39. Kenneth R. Ahern & Amy K. Dittmar, 2012. "The Changing of the Boards: The Impact on Firm Valuation of Mandated Female Board Representation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(1), pages 137-197.
    40. Markus Kitzmueller & Jay Shimshack, 2012. "Economic Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 51-84, March.
    41. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/36jvih4hu68rb95obgqoqsjtep is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lorenzo Ductor & Anja Prummer, 2022. "Gender Homophily, Collaboration, and Output," ThE Papers 22/18, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    2. Jonas Radbruch & Amelie Schiprowski, 2023. "Committee Deliberation and Gender Differences in Influence," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_430, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    3. Osman, Adam & Speer, Jamin D. & Weaver, Andrew, 2023. "Discrimination against Women in Hiring," IZA Discussion Papers 16598, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Boris Rumanko & Jana Kozáková & Mária Urbánová & Monika Hudáková, 2021. "Family Business as a Bearer of Social Sustainability in Multinationals-Case of Slovakia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-25, July.
    5. Zeng, Tian & Botella-Carrubi, Dolores, 2023. "Improving societal benefit through transformative consumer research: A descriptive review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    6. Danzer, Natalia & Garcia-Torres, Sebastian & Steinhardt, Max F. & Stella, Luca, 2023. "Women in Political Power and School Closure during COVID Times," IZA Discussion Papers 15975, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Pipiet Larasatie & Dagmar Karisch-Gierer & Alice Ludvig, 2022. "Women’s Woodland Owner Network: A Comparative Case Study of Oregon (the United States) and Austria," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, September.
    8. Rjiba, Hatem & Thavaharan, Tharshan, 2022. "Female representation on boards and carbon emissions: International evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Abi Adams-Prassl & Kristiina Huttunen & Emily Nix & Ning Zhang, 2022. "Violence Against Women at Work," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 064, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    2. Thomas Schmid & Daniel Urban, 2023. "Female Directors and Firm Value: New Evidence from Directors’ Deaths," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(4), pages 2449-2473, April.
    3. Laura Hospido & Luc Laeven & Ana Lamo, 2022. "The Gender Promotion Gap: Evidence from Central Banking," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(5), pages 981-996, December.
    4. Luca Flabbi & Mario Macis & Andrea Moro & Fabiano Schivardi, 2019. "Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(622), pages 2390-2423.
    5. Tanaka, Takanori, 2019. "Gender diversity on Japanese corporate boards," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 19-31.
    6. Pierre Deschamps, 2018. "Gender Quotas in Hiring Committees: a Boon or a Bane for Women?," Sciences Po publications 82, Sciences Po.
    7. Morchio, Iacopo & Moser, Christian, 2018. "The Gender Pay Gap: Micro Sources and Macro Consequences," MPRA Paper 99276, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 24 Mar 2020.
    8. Gattai, Valeria & Natale, Piergiovanna & Rossi, Francesca, 2023. "Board diversity and outward FDI: Evidence from europe," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    9. Grace Lordan & Jörn‐Steffen Pischke, 2022. "Does Rosie Like Riveting? Male and Female Occupational Choices," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(353), pages 110-130, January.
    10. Gagnon, Nickolas & Bosmans, Kristof & Riedl, Arno, 2020. "The Effect of Unfair Chances and Gender Discrimination on Labor Supply," Research Memorandum 005, Maastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE).
    11. Simona Comi & Mara Grasseni & Federica Origo & Laura Pagani, 2020. "Where Women Make a Difference: Gender Quotas and Firms’ Performance in Three European Countries," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(3), pages 768-793, May.
    12. Faccio, Mara & Marchica, Maria-Teresa & Mura, Roberto, 2016. "CEO gender, corporate risk-taking, and the efficiency of capital allocation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 193-209.
    13. Forth, John & Theodoropoulos, Nikolaos, 2022. "Earnings Discrimination in the Workplace," IZA Discussion Papers 15357, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Lucifora, Claudio & Vigani, Daria, 2016. "What If Your Boss Is a Woman? Work Organization, Work-Life Balance and Gender Discrimination at the Workplace," IZA Discussion Papers 9737, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Fortin, Nicole M. & Bell, Brian & Böhm, Michael, 2017. "Top earnings inequality and the gender pay gap: Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 107-123.
    16. Mohsni, Sana & Otchere, Isaac & Shahriar, Saquib, 2021. "Board gender diversity, firm performance and risk-taking in developing countries: The moderating effect of culture," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    17. Field, Laura Casares & Souther, Matthew E. & Yore, Adam S., 2020. "At the table but can not break through the glass ceiling:Board leadership positions elude diverse directors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(3), pages 787-814.
    18. Duchini, Emma & Simion, Stefania & Turrell, Arthur, 2020. "Pay Transparency and Cracks in the Glass Ceiling," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1311, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    19. Vu Quang Trinh & Ngan Duong Cao & Linh Hai Dinh & Hong Ngoc Nguyen, 2021. "Boardroom gender diversity and dividend payout strategies: Effects of mergers deals," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 6014-6035, October.
    20. Koray Aktas & Valeria Gattai & Piergiovanna Natale, 2021. "Board Gender Quotas and Outward Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from France," Working Papers 485, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Dec 2021.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03873828. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.