Gender Differences in the Choice of Major: The Importance of Female Role Models

Catherine Porter and Danila Serra

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2020, vol. 12, issue 3, 226-54

Abstract: We conducted a field experiment aimed at increasing the percentage of women majoring in economics. We exposed students enrolled in introductory classes to successful and charismatic women who majored in economics at the same university. The intervention significantly impacted female students' enrollment in further economics classes, increasing their likelihood to major in economics by 8 percentage points. This is a large effect, given that only 9 percent of women were majoring in economics at baseline. Since the impacted women were previously planning to major in lower-earning fields, our low-cost intervention may have a positive effect on their future incomes.

JEL-codes: A22 C93 I23 I26 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (155)

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Working Paper: Gender differences in the choice of major: The importance of female role models (2017)
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DOI: 10.1257/app.20180426

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