The Power of Knowing a Woman Is in Charge: Lessons from a Randomized Experiment

Loretti Dobrescu (), Alberto Motta () and Akshay Shanker ()
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Loretti Dobrescu: School of Economics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
Alberto Motta: School of Economics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
Akshay Shanker: School of Economics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia; School of Finance, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales 2050, Australia

Management Science, 2024, vol. 70, issue 12, 8217-8244

Abstract: As part of a term-long anonymous assessment, thousands of undergraduate university students were divided into groups, each led by a randomly selected peer. The leader’s gender had no effect on the assessment’s outcomes, but female students led by a female peer achieved 0.26 standard deviations (SD) higher course grades when the gender of the leader was revealed. They also outperformed by 0.22 SD their counterparts in groups in which the leader’s gender was revealed to be male. The mechanism involved attempting more difficult practice questions. Our structural estimates suggest this operated via a stereotype threat reversal that reduced anxiety.

Keywords: education production function; incentives; gender differences; randomized controlled trial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:70:y:2024:i:12:p:8217-8244

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