Author Abstract
Labor market outcomes depend, in part, upon an individual’s willingness to put herself forward for different career opportunities. In this paper, we use both laboratory and field experiments to better understand decisions around willingness to apply for higher return, more challenging work, with a focus on gender differences. We find that, in male-typed domains, women are less likely to view themselves as well qualified for a given opening, both because of differences in forecasts about own ability, but also, and importantly, because of differences in how high men and women believe “the bar” is. We show that these beliefs matter for application decisions. Finally, we provide evidence that a simple intervention, in which required qualifications are stated more precisely and objectively, helps to close the gender gap in willingness to apply, increasing both the average talent and the diversity of the applicant pool.
Paper Information
- Full Working Paper Text
- Working Paper Publication Date: August 2019
- HBS Working Paper Number: HBS Working Paper #20-062
- Faculty Unit(s): Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
