Gender homophily in job referrals: Evidence from a field study among university students

Karin Hederos, Anna Sandberg, Lukas Kvissberg and Erik Polano

Labour Economics, 2025, vol. 92, issue C

Abstract: We conducted a field study at a Swedish business school to investigate gender homophily in referrer behavior. In the study, 453 participants were asked to refer another student at the school for a real job. We find that both men and women mainly refer candidates of their own gender: 71% of female participants referred a female candidate, and 75% of male participants referred a male candidate. The gender composition of close friendship networks appears to be an important driver of this pattern. Randomizing participants across two job advertisements, we find suggestive evidence that the degree of gender homophily in job referrals is stronger when the job is more consistent with stereotypes associated with the participant’s own gender.

Keywords: Job referrals; Referral hiring; Gender homophily; Social networks; Job segregation; Referral networks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:labeco:v:92:y:2025:i:c:s0927537124001581

DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2024.102662

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