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Gender Gaps in Performance: Evidence from Young Lawyers

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  • Ghazala Azmat

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

  • Rosa Ferrer

    (UPF - Universitat Pompeu Fabra [Barcelona])

Abstract

This paper documents the gender gap in performance among high-skilled professionals in the United States. On the basis of widely used performance measures in law firms, we find that male lawyers bill 10 percent more hours and bring in more than twice as much new client revenue as female lawyers. The differential impact across genders in the presence of young children and differences in aspirations to become a law firm partner account for a large share of the difference in performance. We show that accounting for performance has important consequences for gender gaps in lawyers' earnings and subsequent promotion.

Suggested Citation

  • Ghazala Azmat & Rosa Ferrer, 2017. "Gender Gaps in Performance: Evidence from Young Lawyers," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03391951, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:spmain:hal-03391951
    DOI: 10.1086/693686
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal-sciencespo.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03391951
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    Cited by:

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    2. Lordan, Grace & Lekfuangfu, Warn N., 2023. "Stephen versus Stephanie? Does Gender Matter for Peer-to-Peer Career Advice," IZA Discussion Papers 16161, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Spencer Bastani & Thomas Giebe & Oliver Gürtler, 2023. "Overconfidence and Gender Equality in the Labor Market," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 220, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    4. Pierre-Jean Messe & Jeremy Tanguy, 2022. "Does gender equality bargaining reduce child penalty? Evidence from France," TEPP Working Paper 2022-19, TEPP.
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    7. Ahammer, Alexander & Glogowsky, Ulrich & Halla, Martin & Hener, Timo, 2023. "The Parenthood Penalty in Mental Health: Evidence from Austria and Denmark," IZA Discussion Papers 16459, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1mv0mm6vqb8dibn34slm9vhu6d is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Agnès Charpin & Josep Amer-Mestre & Noémi Berlin & Magali Dumontet, 2024. "Gender Differences in Early Occupational Choices: Evidence from Medical Specialty Selection," EconomiX Working Papers 2024-5, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    10. Kouki, Amairisa, 2023. "Beyond the “Comforts” of work from home: Child health and the female wage penalty," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    11. Lucía Del Carpio & Maria Guadalupe, 2022. "More Women in Tech? Evidence from a Field Experiment Addressing Social Identity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(5), pages 3196-3218, May.
    12. Raitano, Michele & Vona, Francesco, 2021. "Nepotism vs. Specific Skills: The effect of professional liberalization on returns to parental background of Italian lawyers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 489-505.
    13. Ghazala Azmat & Vicente Cuñat & Emeric Henry, 2023. "Gender Promotion Gaps and Career Aspirations," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-04347611, HAL.
    14. 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.
    15. Lochner, Benjamin & Merkl, Christian, 2022. "Gender-specific application behavior, matching, and the residual gender earnings gap," FAU Discussion Papers in Economics 04/2022, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute for Economics.
    16. García, Gustavo A. & Ramírez-Hassan, Andrés & Saravia, Estefanía & Vargas, Raquel & Duque, Juan Fernando & Londoño, Daniel, 2022. "Impacto del programa de subsidios en el transporte escolar en Medellín (Colombia) como herramientas para reducir la exclusión social," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12013, Inter-American Development Bank.
    17. Julian Johnsen & Hyejin Ku & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2023. "Competition and Career Advancement," CESifo Working Paper Series 10577, CESifo.
    18. J.Ignacio Conde-Ruiz & Juan-José Ganuza & Manu García & Luis A. Puch, 2023. "Diferencias de Género en la Investigación Económica. Un Enfoque de Aprendizaje Automático," Working Papers 2023-02, FEDEA.
    19. Agnès Charpin & Josep Amer-Mestre & Noémi Berlin & Magali Dumontet, 2024. "Gender Differences in Early Occupational Choices: Evidence from Medical Specialty Selection," EconomiX Working Papers 2024-5, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    20. Healy, Olivia & Heissel, Jennifer A., 2024. "Baby Bumps in the Road: The Impact of Parenthood on Job Performance, Human Capital, and Career Advancement," IZA Discussion Papers 16743, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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