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Do Women Top Managers Help Women Advance? A Panel Study Using EEO-1 Records

Author

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  • Fidan Ana Kurtulus

    (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

  • Donald Tomaskovic-Devey

    (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

Abstract

The goal of this study is to examine whether women in the highest levels of management ranks of firms help reduce barriers to advancement in the workplace faced by women. Using a panel of over 20,000 private-sector firms across all industries and states during 1990-2003 from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, we explore the influence of women in top management on subsequent female representation in lower-level managerial positions in U.S. firms. Our key findings show that an increase in the share of female top managers is associated with subsequent increases in the share of women in mid-level management positions within firms, and this result is robust to controlling for firm size, workforce composition, federal contractor status, firm fixed effects, year fixed effects and industry-specific trends. The influence of women in top management positions is stronger among federal contractors, in firms with larger female labor forces, and for white women. We also find that the positive influence of women in top leadership positions on managerial gender diversity diminishes over time, suggesting that women at the top play a positive but transitory role in women’s career advancement. JEL Categories: J16, J21, J24, J44, J62, J71, J78, J82, M51

Suggested Citation

  • Fidan Ana Kurtulus & Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, 2011. "Do Women Top Managers Help Women Advance? A Panel Study Using EEO-1 Records," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2011-14, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ums:papers:2011-14
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    Cited by:

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    3. 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.
    4. Adeel Mustafa & Abubakr Saeed & Muhammad Awais & Shahab Aziz, 2020. "Board-Gender Diversity, Family Ownership, and Dividend Announcement: Evidence from Asian Emerging Economies," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, March.
    5. Lina Buchely, 2013. "Overcoming Gender Disadvantages. Social Policy Analysis of urban middle-class women in Colombia," Revista de Economía del Rosario, Universidad del Rosario, December.
    6. Périlleux, Anaïs & Szafarz, Ariane, 2015. "Women Leaders and Social Performance: Evidence from Financial Cooperatives in Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 437-452.
    7. Steven Bednar & Dora Gicheva & Albert N. Link, 2021. "Innovative activity and gender dynamics," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1591-1599, April.
    8. Haque, Adnan ul & Faizan, Riffat & Cockrill, Antje, 2017. "The Relationship between Female Representation at Strategic Level and Firm's Competitiveness: Evidences from Cargo Logistic Firms of Pakistan and Canada," MPRA Paper 80031, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 24 Apr 2017.
    9. Francesco Devicienti & Elena Grinza & Alessandro Manello & Davide Vannoni, 2019. "What Are the Benefits of Having More Female Leaders? Evidence from the Use of Part-Time Work in Italy," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(4), pages 897-926, August.
    10. Muhammad Ali & Yin Ng & Carol Kulik, 2014. "Board Age and Gender Diversity: A Test of Competing Linear and Curvilinear Predictions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(3), pages 497-512, December.
    11. Joni Hersch, 2013. "Opting out among women with elite education," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 469-506, December.
    12. María Isabel Delgado-Piña & Óscar Rodríguez-Ruiz & Antonio Rodríguez-Duarte & Miguel Ángel Sastre-Castillo, 2020. "Gender Diversity in Spanish Banks: Trickle-Down and Productivity Effects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-18, March.
    13. Kay, Rosemarie & Nielen, Sebastian, 2018. "Die Beschäftigungs- und Einkommenssituation von Young Women MINT Professionals im Mittelstand," Daten und Fakten 22, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn.
    14. Steven Bednar & Dora Gicheva, 2018. "Career Implications of Having a Female-Friendly Supervisor," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 71(2), pages 426-457, March.
    15. Kay, Rosemarie & Schlömer-Laufen, Nadine, 2016. "Gender diversity in top-management positions in large family and nonfamily businesses," Working Papers 02/16, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn.
    16. Brishti Guha & Prabal Roy Chowdhury, 2015. "Affirmative action in the presence of a creamy layer," Discussion Papers 15-06, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi.
    17. Richard Fabling & Arthur Grimes & David C. Maré, 2012. "Performance Pay Systems and the Gender Wage Gap," Working Papers 12_13, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    18. Lena E. Hensvik, 2014. "Manager Impartiality: Worker-Firm Matching and the Gender Wage Gap," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 67(2), pages 395-421, April.
    19. Fidan Ana Kurtulus, 2015. "The Impact of Affirmative Action on the Employment of Minorities and Women over Three Decades: 1973-2003," Upjohn Working Papers 15-221, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    20. Ximena Pena & Juan Camilo Cárdenas & Hugo Ñopo & Jorge Luis Castañeda, 2013. "Mujer y movilidad social," Documentos CEDE 10498, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Women Managers; Gender Diversity; Discrimination; Mentoring; Promotions; Hiring and Retention;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J78 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Public Policy (including comparable worth)
    • J82 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Labor Force Composition
    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions

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