Experimental Studies on the Link between Promotion of Creative Ideas and Gender Discrimination
Final Report Abstract
Women remain underrepresented in innovation-related positions and those women who are active in innovation-related positions face disparities in access to critical resources such as start-up funding or research grants. Addressing this gender disparity is not only a matter of fairness but also presents an opportunity to boost innovation and economic growth. In this research project, we investigate gender differences in self-promotion and show that including written self-promotion in decision contexts does not induce but may contribute to reducing gender biases. To provide insights, we conduct a sequence of experimental studies, all following a similar twostage procedure. In the first stage, workers complete a task and write a short self-promotion about their performance. In the second stage, decision-makers choose between workers. Workers earn more if they are selected by a relevant decision-maker, while decision-makers earn more if they select the better performing workers. This project consists of three main subprojects. In the first subproject, we analyse whether selfpromotion leads to gender-biased outcomes. Our results suggest that including written selfpromotion in decision processes is unlikely to contribute to the underrepresentation of women and may even help reducing pre-existing biases. In the second subproject, we analyse how inequality between workers and quotas impact self-promotion. While we find that workers adjust their self-promotion in response to inequality (absent of a quota), implementing a quota reducing this inequality has no significant effects on self-promotion. In the third subproject, we analyze the effect of advice on self-promotion. We find that advice leads to on average more favorable self-promotion, with high-potential women benefiting particularly from reactive advice that is provided after an initial self-assessment. In summary, our results suggests that written self-promotion does not lead to gender disparities but may mitigate existing gender biases. Further, quotas do not seem to have a negative impact on self-promotion behavior of disadvantaged individuals. Finally, advice —such as commonly provided in mentoring settings —can lead to more favorable self-promotion. Especially reactive advice seems suitable to effectively enhance the success of high-potential women.
Publications
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Remember me? The role of gender and racial attributes in memory. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 104, 102008.
Belot, Michèle & Schröder, Marina
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A technical toolbox supporting the implementation of WIT
Römer, N. & Schröder, M.
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Piece-Rate Incentives and Idea Generation– An Experimental Analysis. CESifo Working Paper
Laske, K., Römer, N. & Schröder M.
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Self-promotion and gender bias: Experimental evidence. Hannover Economic Papers
Römer, N. & Schröder, M.
