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Gender in the Economics Profession I

Paper Session

Friday, Jan. 4, 2019 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM

Atlanta Marriott Marquis, A601
Hosted By: American Economic Association & Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession
  • Chair: Margie McElroy, Duke University

Gender and Collaboration

Lorenzo Ductor
,
Middlesex University
Sanjeev Goyal
,
University of Cambridge
Anja Prummer
,
Queen Mary University of London

Abstract

The fraction of women in economics has grown significantly over the last forty years. In spite of this, the differences in research output between men and women are large and persistent. These output differences are related to differences in the co-authorship networks of men and women: women have fewer collaborators, collaborate more often with the same co-authors, and a higher fraction of their co-authors are co-authors of each other. Moreover, women collaborate more and do so with more senior co-authors. Standard models of homophily and discrimination cannot account for these differences. We discuss how differences in risk aversion and an adverse environment for women can explain them.

Does Simple Information Provision Lead to More Diverse Classrooms? Evidence from a Field Experiment on Undergraduate Economics

Amanda Bayer
,
Swarthmore College
Syon Bhanot
,
Swarthmore College
Fernando Lozano
,
Pomona College

Abstract

Significant gender and racial/ethnic gaps have been observed in the economics profession, a reality with roots in the decisions of undergraduates and their professors. Indeed, despite representing almost 60 percent of the U.S. college population, women account for only 30 percent of economics majors. While disparities in knowledge of economics and its value undoubtedly exist before students set foot on college campuses, economists could do more to directly address student misperceptions and knowledge gaps. This paper reports the results of a field experiment in which faculty provided incoming students with information about economics via two emails sent in the summer as students considered courses for their first semester of college. We evaluate whether this outreach has an impact on course taking using a randomized control trial involving 2,710 students across nine U.S. colleges with a strong record of sending students to PhD programs in economics. We randomly assign all incoming women and members of underrepresented minority groups to one of three experimental conditions: a control (no email messaging), a simple “Welcome” treatment (two emails encouraging students to consider enrolling in economics courses), and a “Welcome+Info” treatment (two emails encouraging students to consider enrolling in economics courses plus information showcasing the diversity of research and researchers within economics and providing links to educational materials on the AEA’s website). The Welcome+Info treatment increases the likelihood of completing an economics course in the first semester of college by 3.0 percentage points, which is nearly 20 percent of the baseline rate. Additional exploratory analyses suggest stronger effects on first-generation college students. Our results add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that how economics is presented at the undergraduate level affects who is attracted to the field.

Gender Equality and Positive Action: Evidence from UK Universities

Danula Gamage
,
Queen Mary University of London
Almudena Sevilla
,
University College London (UCL)

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of the Athena Scientific Women's Academic Network (SWAN) Charter on the wages and employment trajectories of female faculty. The Athena SWAN Charter is a gender equality initiative that formally recognises good practice towards the representation and career progression of women in Science, Technology, Engineer, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) through an accreditation process. Understanding the effects of the Charter on gender equality in STEMM is particularly relevant at a time when the Charter’s scope is being widened to cover gender equality in the disciplines of arts, humanities, and social sciences, including economics. We find that the gender wage gap closes after Athena SWAN accreditation. Female faculty at the non-professorial level are not more likely to being promoted to professor after accreditation, or to move to an Athena SWAN accredited university. Taken together these results suggest that the higher wage growth experienced by female non-professorial faculty after Athena SWAN accreditation is likely to come from pay rises within a particular rank.
Discussant(s)
Xuan Jiang
,
Ohio State University
Daniel Hamermesh
,
University of Texas-Austin
Alex Imas
,
Carnegie Mellon University
Kelly Bedard
,
University of California-Santa Barbara
JEL Classifications
  • J1 - Demographic Economics
  • J7 - Labor Discrimination