What Prevents Women from Reaching the Top?

Matti Keluoharju (), Samuli Knüpfer and Joacim Tåg
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Matti Keluoharju: Aalto University School of Business, Postal: Harvard Business School, CEPR and Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), https://www.ifn.se/en/researchers/affiliated-researchers/matti-keloharju/

No 1111, Working Paper Series from Research Institute of Industrial Economics

Abstract: We use rich data on all business, economics, and engineering graduates in Sweden to study the lack of women among CEOs. A comprehensive battery of graduates’ characteristics explains 40% of the gender gaps in CEO appointments, and 60% among graduates with children. The explanatory power mostly comes from absences and unemployment, which are about twice as likely for women as men. These gender differences increase following childbirth, and they persist in the long run. We present and discuss potential explanations to the explained and remaining gaps. Although the large unexplained share makes it is hard to pinpoint the exact reason for the gender gap in CEO appointments, the large contribution of labor market attachment to the explained share suggests work-family trade-offs are an important part of the story.

Keywords: CEOs; Gender gap; Labor market attachment; Family; Qualifications (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G34 J16 J24 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46 pages
Date: 2016-02-18, Revised 2022-02-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-cfn, nep-eur, nep-hrm and nep-lma
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Journal Article: What prevents women from reaching the top? (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1111

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