IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/glodps/467.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Affirmative Action and Intersectionality at the Top: Evidence from South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Klasen, Stephan
  • Minasyan, Anna

Abstract

Gender-based board quotas do not always lead to higher share of women in top management positions. We study the consequences of an affirmative action policy that stipulates gender- and race-based targets in top management positions, beyond boards. We focus on the representation of intersectional group identities, such as race and gender, at the top. We find sizable increase in the likelihood of Black women employment in top positions in the post-policy period relative to Black men, White women and White men in South Africa. We extend our analysis and estimate policy spillovers for years of schooling, earnings gaps and self-employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Klasen, Stephan & Minasyan, Anna, 2020. "Affirmative Action and Intersectionality at the Top: Evidence from South Africa," GLO Discussion Paper Series 467, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:467
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/213568/1/GLO-DP-0467.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Moro, Andrea & Norman, Peter, 2003. "Affirmative action in a competitive economy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(3-4), pages 567-594, March.
    2. Jennifer R. Peck, 2017. "Can Hiring Quotas Work? The Effect of the Nitaqat Program on the Saudi Private Sector," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 316-347, May.
    3. Deshpande, Ashwini & Weisskopf, Thomas E., 2014. "Does Affirmative Action Reduce Productivity? A Case Study of the Indian Railways," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 169-180.
    4. 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.
    5. Ben Backes, 2012. "Do Affirmative Action Bans Lower Minority College Enrollment and Attainment?: Evidence from Statewide Bans," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 47(2), pages 435-455.
    6. Alberto Abadie & Susan Athey & Guido W Imbens & Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2023. "When Should You Adjust Standard Errors for Clustering?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 138(1), pages 1-35.
    7. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    8. Jonathan Meer & Jeremy West, 2016. "Effects of the Minimum Wage on Employment Dynamics," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 51(2), pages 500-522.
    9. Rulof Burger & Rachel Jafta & Dieter von Fintel, 2016. "Affirmative action policies and the evolution of post-apartheid South Africa's racial wage gap," WIDER Working Paper Series 066, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Stephan Klasen & Ingrid Woolard, 2009. "Surviving Unemployment Without State Support: Unemployment and Household Formation in South Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 18(1), pages 1-51, January.
    11. David A. Matsa & Amalia R. Miller, 2011. "Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling: Gender Spillovers in Corporate Leadership," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 635-639, May.
    12. O’Brien, Diana Z. & Rickne, Johanna, 2016. "Gender Quotas and Women's Political Leadership," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 110(1), pages 112-126, February.
    13. Conrad Miller, 2017. "The Persistent Effect of Temporary Affirmative Action," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 152-190, July.
    14. Stephan Klasen & Ingrid Woolard, 1999. "Levels, trends and consistency of employment and unemployment figures in South Africa," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 3-35.
    15. Marianne Bertrand & Sandra E Black & Sissel Jensen & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2019. "Breaking the Glass Ceiling? The Effect of Board Quotas on Female Labour Market Outcomes in Norway," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(1), pages 191-239.
    16. 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.
    17. Timothy Besley & Olle Folke & Torsten Persson & Johanna Rickne, 2017. "Gender Quotas and the Crisis of the Mediocre Man: Theory and Evidence from Sweden," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(8), pages 2204-2242, August.
    18. Leonard, Jonathan S, 1990. "The Impact of Affirmative Action Regulation and Equal Employment Law on Black Employment," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 4(4), pages 47-63, Fall.
    19. David Neumark & Harry Holzer, 2000. "Assessing Affirmative Action," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 483-568, September.
    20. Francis-Tan, Andrew & Tannuri-Pianto, Maria, 2018. "Black Movement: Using discontinuities in admissions to study the effects of college quality and affirmative action," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 97-116.
    21. Agata Maida & Andrea Weber, 2022. "Female Leadership and Gender Gap within Firms: Evidence from an Italian Board Reform," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 75(2), pages 488-515, March.
    22. Antoine Rebérioux & Gwenaël Roudaut, 2019. "The Role of Rookie Female Directors in a Post‐Quota Period: Gender Inequalities within French Boards," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 423-483, July.
    23. Surendrakumar Bagde & Dennis Epple & Lowell Taylor, 2016. "Does Affirmative Action Work? Caste, Gender, College Quality, and Academic Success in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(6), pages 1495-1521, June.
    24. Fidan Ana Kurtulus, 2012. "Affirmative Action and the Occupational Advancement of Minorities and Women During 1973–2003," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 213-246, April.
    25. Hughes, Melanie M., 2011. "Intersectionality, Quotas, and Minority Women's Political Representation Worldwide," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 105(3), pages 604-620, August.
    26. Rulof Burger & Rachel Jafta & Dieter von Fintel, 2016. "Affirmative action policies and the evolution of post-apartheid South Africa's racial wage gap," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-66, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    27. David A. Matsa & Amalia R. Miller, 2011. "Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling: Gender Spillovers in Corporate Leadership," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, pages 635-639.
    28. Nicholas Spaull, 2012. "Poverty & Privilege: Primary School Inequality in South Africa," Working Papers 13/2012, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Paola Profeta & Giacomo Pasini & Valeria Maggian & Ludovica Spinola, 2023. "The gender composition of supervisor-worker dyads: Career blocks and gender pay gap," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2023 17, Stata Users Group.
    2. Nikolaos Theodoropoulos & John Forth & Alex Bryson, 2019. "Are Women Doing It For Themselves? Gender Segregation and the Gender Wage Gap," DoQSS Working Papers 19-07, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    3. Keller, Wolfgang & Molina, Teresa & Olney, William W., 2023. "The gender gap among top business executives," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 270-286.
    4. Schank, Thorsten & Bossler, Mario & Mosthaf, Alexander, 2016. "More female manager hires through more female managers? Evidence from Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145733, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Mario Bossler & Alexander Mosthaf & Thorsten Schank, 2020. "Are Female Managers More Likely to Hire More Female Managers? Evidence from Germany," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(3), pages 676-704, May.
    6. Agata Maida & Andrea Weber, 2022. "Female Leadership and Gender Gap within Firms: Evidence from an Italian Board Reform," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 75(2), pages 488-515, March.
    7. Das, Jishnu & Joubert, Clément, 2023. "Women in the pipeline: A dynamic decomposition of firm pay gaps," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    8. Nikolaos Theodoropoulos & John Forth & Alex Bryson, 2022. "Are Women Doing It for Themselves? Female Managers and the Gender Wage Gap," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(6), pages 1329-1355, December.
    9. Dalvit, Nicolò & Patel, Aseem & Tan, Joanne, 2022. "Intra-firm hierarchies and gender gaps," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    10. Iga Magda & Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska, 2018. "Do female managers help to lower within-firm gender pay gaps? Public institutions vs. private enterprises," IBS Working Papers 08/2018, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    11. Schoonjans, Eline & Hottenrott, Hanna & Buchwald, Achim, 2023. "Welcome on board? Appointment dynamics of women as directors," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-005, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    12. McGinnity, Frances & Quinn, Emma & McCullough, Evie & Enright, Shannen, 2021. "Measures to combat racial discrimination and promote diversity in the labour market: A review of evidence," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number SUSTAT110, June.
    13. Xing, Lu & Gonzalez, Angelica & Sila, Vathunyoo, 2021. "Does cooperation among women enhance or impede firm performance?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(4).
    14. Giannetti, Mariassunta & Wang, Tracy Yue, 2020. "Public Attention to Gender Equality and the Demand for Female Directors," CEPR Discussion Papers 14503, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Felipe Benguria, 2020. "Firms, Jobs, and Gender Disparities in Top Incomes: Evidence from Brazil," Upjohn Working Papers 20-338, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    16. Aksoy, Cevat Giray & Carpenter, Christopher S. & Frank, Jeff & Huffman, Matt L., 2019. "Gay glass ceilings: Sexual orientation and workplace authority in the UK," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 167-180.
    17. Biasi, Barbara & Sarsons, Heather, 2020. "Flexible Wages, Bargaining, and the Gender Gap," IZA Discussion Papers 13754, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Sule Alan & Gozde Corekcioglu & Mustafa Kaba & Matthias Sutter, 2023. "Female Leadership and Workplace Climate," ECONtribute Policy Brief Series 057, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    19. 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.
    20. Michèle Müller-Itten & Aniko Ory, 2017. "Mentoring and the Dynamics of Affirmative Action," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 3012, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    affirmative action; top; employment; race; gender; South Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • K31 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Labor Law

    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:zbw:glodps:467. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/glabode.html .

    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.