Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance

Luca Flabbi, Mario Macis, Andrea Moro and Fabiano Schivardi

The Economic Journal, 2019, vol. 129, issue 622, 2390-2423

Abstract: We investigate the effects of female executives on gender-specific wage distributions and firm performance. Female leadership has a positive impact at the top of the female wage distribution and a negative impact at the bottom. The impact of female leadership on firm performance increases with the share of female workers. We account for the endogeneity induced by non-random executives’ gender by including firm fixed-effects, by generating controls from a two-way fixed-effects regression and by using instruments based on regional trends. The findings are consistent with a model of statistical discrimination in which female executives are better at interpreting signals of productivity from female workers. This suggests substantial costs of women under-representation among executives.

Date: 2019
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Related works:
Working Paper: Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadreship on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance (2018)
Working Paper: Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance (2016)
Working Paper: Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance (2015)
Working Paper: Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance (2015)
Working Paper: Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance (2014)
Working Paper: Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance (2014)
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