Work

The Old Boys' Club: Schmoozing and the Gender Gap

Year: 2019

Type: report

Abstract: Offices are social places.Employees and managers take breaks together and talk about family and hobbies.In this study, we show that employees' social interactions with their managers can be advantageous for their careers, and that this phenomenon contributes to the gender pay gap.We use administrative and survey data from a large financial institution and exploit quasi-random variation induced by the rotation of managers.We provide evidence that when employees have more face-to-face interactions with their managers, they are promoted at a higher rate.This mechanism could explain a third of the gender gap in promotions at this firm.

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research

DOI: 10.3386/w26530

Authors: Zoë Cullen, Ricardo Perez-Truglia

Institutions: National Bureau of Economic Research, Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley

Language: English

Topic: Gender Diversity and Inequality

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Decent work and economic growth, Gender equality

Open Access status: green

Funder: Harvard Business School

OpenAlex ID: W2985303296

Cites: 69

Cited by: 40

Related to: 10