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New research on gender in the workplace from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including "leaning-in," gender inequity, the social and economic effects of maternal employment, and gender diversity's effect on corporate financial performance.
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Has #MeToo Changed How Hollywood Hires?

by Rachel Layne

Sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein united women in the film industry. But has the message of the #MeToo movement reached men? Research by Hong Luo and colleague. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Biased Sampling of Early Users and the Direction of Startup Innovation

by Ruiqing Cao, Rembrand Koning, and Ramana Nanda

New ventures catering to female customers should be aware that the underrepresentation of women among early users on digital platforms can reduce the venture’s growth and chances of survival. As a result of gaining fewer early users, these ventures reduce future product development and are less likely to raise VC funding.

The Challenges of Commercializing Fertility

Entrepreneur Christy Jones wants to create a venture to help women preserve their eggs and postpone motherhood. But what would an egg-freezing service sell—and to whom? Debora Spar discusses the challenges of commercializing fertility in a new case study. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The COVID Gender Gap: Why Fewer Women Are Dying

by Dina Gerdeman

To promote the greatest safety, public health officials should target their pandemic messaging to men differently than to women. Research by Vincent Pons and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Can Being the ‘Token’ Give Women and Minorities a Competitive Edge?

by Danielle Kost

Underrepresented professionals are more likely to choose predominantly male or white workgroups if it helps their ideas stand out, according to research by Edward H. Chang and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Gender Differences in COVID-19 Related Attitudes and Behavior: Evidence from a Panel Survey in Eight OECD Countries

by Vincent Pons, Vincenzo Galasso, Paola Profeta, Michael Becher, Sylvain Brouard, and Martial Foucault

Survey evidence from eight countries indicates strong gender differences in people’s belief that COVID-19 represents a serious health risk and in their agreement and compliance with restraining policy measures.

Gender Inequality in Research Productivity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Ruomeng Cui, Hao Ding, and Feng Zhu

Analysis of data from the largest open-access repositories for social science in the world finds that female researchers’ productivity significantly dropped relative to that of male researchers as a result of the lockdown in the United States.

Corporate Leadership and Creditor Recovery Rates: Evidence from Executive Gender

by Clarissa Hauptmann and Anywhere Sikochi

This paper examines the relationship between executive gender and creditor recovery rates, showing that creditors to female-run firms have higher recovery rates in the event of default.

The Old Boys' Club: Schmoozing and the Gender Gap

by Zoë B. Cullen and Ricardo Perez-Truglia

Over a four-year period, male employees assigned a male manager were promoted at a faster rate than their female counterparts, with no observable difference in performance. Women, in turn, were promoted at the same rate whether assigned to a male manager or female manager. Male employees benefited from the higher rates of social interactions with their male managers.

Taking on the Taboos That Keep Women Out of India's Workforce

by Julia Hanna

Giving women in rural India more control over household finances reduces the social stigma of working, says research by Natalia Rigol. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

When to Apply?

by Katherine Coffman, Manuela Collis, and Leena Kulkarni

Using a series of experiments, the authors studied gender differences in how job-seekers perceive their own qualifications for different opportunities and how this affects their decision to apply. Results suggest that soft touch employer interventions can improve the diversity of applicant pools even if candidate beliefs about their own ability are unchanged.

Gender Bias Complaints against Apple Card Signal a Dark Side to Fintech

by Karen G. Mills

The possibility that Apple Card applicants were subject to gender bias opens a new frontier for the financial services sector in which regulators are largely absent, argues Karen Mills. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Gender Gap in Self-Promotion

by Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler

Many organizations and job applications require individuals to assess their own ability and performance. When women communicate to potential employers, however, they systematically give less favorable assessments of their own past performance and potential future ability than equally performing men. The study rules out potential explanations for the gap and discusses implications.

‘Chick Beer’ for Women? Why Gender Marketing Repels More Than Sells

by Dina Gerdeman

Just how far will women go to avoid products labeled "for women?" Research by Leslie K. John and colleagues explores why gender marketing usually offends the very people a company is trying to attract. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Female Inventors and Inventions

by Rembrand Koning, Sampsa Samila, and John-Paul Ferguson

Does the gender of inventors make a difference for who benefits from their inventions? Analysis of all U.S. biomedical patents issued between 1976 and 2010 shows that research teams with women were more likely to produce patents addressing women’s health conditions, especially when female researchers led the teams. This link suggests that the dearth of women inventors might also result in fewer female-focused inventions.

Do Experts Listen to Other Experts? Field Experimental Evidence from Scientific Peer Review

by Misha Teplitskiy, Hardeep Ranu, Gary Gray, Michael Menietti, Eva Guinan, and Karim R. Lakhani

Influence is a fundamental aspect of collective decisions. It is thus crucial to consider not only the composition of evaluation panels but also their deliberation process. This study illuminates drivers of influence among an elite population of experts and contributes to our understanding of resource allocation in science and other expert domains.

Women Pay a Higher Career Price in Today's Always-On Work Culture

by Danielle Kost

In industries that prize overwork, both men and women pay the price of missed time with family. But the career damage is more severe for women, says Robin Ely. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Gender-Diverse Companies Thrive Only Where Diversity is Embraced

by Sean Silverthorne

Researchers have produced murky, conflicting results about whether gender-diverse companies perform better than those managed mostly by men. Letian Zhang offers new insight that explains why. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Calculators for Women: When Identity Appeals Provoke Backlash

by Tami Kim, Kate Barasz, Leslie John, and Michael Norton

With calculators targeted to women and laundry products aimed at men, examples of identity-based labeling—or “identity appeals”—abound in advertising and marketing. Five studies show when and why such identity appeals backfire. Identity appeals may fail equally whether they evoke negative or just milder stereotypes.

Has the Glass Ceiling Been Broken (or at Least Cracked)?

by Sean Silverthorne

Harvard Business School researchers have been at the forefront of studies on gender discrimination for several decades. As International Women's Day 2019 approaches, here is what they've discovered so far. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.