Gender Gaps across the Spectrum of Development: Local Talent and Firm Productivity

Nava Ashraf (), Oriana Bandiera, Virginia Minni and Víctor Quintas-Martínez
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Nava Ashraf: London School of Economics
Víctor Quintas-Martínez: MIT

No 17103, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We ask whether the gendered division of work affects firm productivity across the spectrum of economic development. Personnel records of over 100,000 individuals hired by a global firm that operates in 100 countries reveal that the performance of female employees is higher where women are underrepresented in the candidate pool. This implies productivity gains from hiring more women, but realizing them would require increasing women's pay relative to men. The findings highlight how unequal gender norms in local labor markets create an equity-efficiency trade-off inside the firm, particularly in low-income countries with conservative gender norms.

Keywords: female labor force participation; multinationals; local labor markets; gender pay gap; firm productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M5 O12 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 67 pages
Date: 2024-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff, nep-gen and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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