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Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Luca Flabbi

    (Inter-American Development Bank)

  • Mario Macis

    (Johns Hopkins University)

  • Andrea Moro

    (Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia)

  • Fabiano Schivardi

    (Bocconi University)

Abstract

We analyze a matched employer-employee panel data set and find that female leadership has a positive effect on female wages at the top of the distribution, and a negative one at the bottom. Moreover, performance in firms with female leadership increases with the share of female workers. This evidence is consistent with a model where female executives are better equipped at interpreting signals of productivity from female workers. This suggests substantial costs of under-representation of women at the top: for example, if women became CEOs of firms with at least 20% female employment, sales per worker would increase 6.7%.

Suggested Citation

  • Luca Flabbi & Mario Macis & Andrea Moro & Fabiano Schivardi, 2015. "Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance," Working Papers CELEG 1507, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, LUISS Guido Carli.
    • Handle: RePEc:lui:celegw:1507
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    executives’ gender; gender gap; firm performance; glass ceiling; statistical discrimination;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M5 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation
    • J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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