Diversity and Access in Academic Finance Seminars

Marina Gertsberg ()
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Marina Gertsberg: University of Melbourne

No 18603, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: Academic seminars are a central mechanism through which the finance profession allocates visibility, feedback, and network access. Using a new panel of 8,744 external seminars at 74 U.S. finance departments from 2010 to 2024, I document five stylized facts. First, female representation rose from 10% to 25%, outpacing growth in the female share of the finance faculty. Second, seminar presenters are positively selected on research visibility: relative to same-institution faculty, they have substantially more publications, Top-3 publications, and citations, and this premium is no larger for women than for men. Third, seminar matching is strongly hierarchical: lower-ranked departments invite upward, whereas top departments draw from a broader range of tiers. Fourth, geographic reach is greater for elite-affiliated and senior scholars. Fifth, seminar opportunities are highly concentrated, with the top 10% of presenters accounting for 43% of all talks. The evidence shows that finance seminars have become more gender-inclusive while remaining strongly selective and hierarchical.

Keywords: finance profession; academic seminars; diversity; hierarchy; geographic stratification; academic labor markets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I23 J16 J44 J71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-04
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