Does the Gender Mix Among Employers Influence Who Gets Hired? A Labor Market Experiment

Jena Economic Research Papers 2015-007

49 Pages Posted: 17 Jun 2015 Last revised: 19 Jun 2015

See all articles by Alexia Gaudeul

Alexia Gaudeul

Joint Research Center of the European Commission

Ayu Okvitawanli

Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

Marian Panganiban

Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods

Date Written: June 9, 2015

Abstract

We consider in this paper whether the gender mix at the level of decision-makers in firms can influence gender representation at the employee level. We run a laboratory experiment whereby we present a pair of independent employers with applications from two potential employees. We consider whether the gender of the other employer will influence an employer's hiring decision. We find that the gender mix among employers plays a role in the individual hiring decisions of female members. Female employers when paired with a male employer are more likely to choose a female applicant over an equally competent male applicant. Results of an Implicit Association Test (IAT) and answers to a post-experimental questionnaire show that explicit beliefs about relative gender performance are significantly associated with the observed hiring bias, while implicit attitudes do not appear to play a role.

Keywords: discrimination, hiring, IAT, implicit attitudes, gender quotas, labor markets, employment

JEL Classification: J71, J78, C91

Suggested Citation

Gaudeul, Alexia and Okvitawanli, Ayu and Panganiban, Marian, Does the Gender Mix Among Employers Influence Who Gets Hired? A Labor Market Experiment (June 9, 2015). Jena Economic Research Papers 2015-007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2619090 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2619090

Alexia Gaudeul (Contact Author)

Joint Research Center of the European Commission ( email )

Via E. Fermi 2749
Brussels, B-1049
Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/behavioural-insights/about_en

Ayu Okvitawanli

Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena ( email )

Furstengraben 1
Jena, Thuringa 07743
Germany

Marian Panganiban

Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods ( email )

Kurt-Schumacher-Str. 10
D-53113 Bonn, 53113
Germany

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