Disconnecting Women: Gender Disparities in the Impact of Online Instruction

Xiaoyue Shan (), Ulf Zölitz () and Uschi Backes-Gellner ()
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Xiaoyue Shan: National University of Singapore
Ulf Zölitz: University of Zurich
Uschi Backes-Gellner: University of Zurich

No 18011, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We study the impact of online instruction with a field experiment that randomly assigns 1,344 university students to different proportions of online and in-person lectures in multiple introductory courses. Increased online instruction leaves men’s exam performance unaffected but significantly lowers women’s performance, particularly in math-intensive courses. Online instruction also reduces women’s longer-run performance and increases their study dropout. Exploring mechanisms, we find that women exposed to more online lectures report greater difficulty in connecting with peers, less engaging instructors, and lower course satisfaction. Our findings suggest that shifting toward more online instruction may disproportionally harm women.

Keywords: gender disparities; field experiment; Online instruction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 I23 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-07
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