Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling: Gender Spillovers in Corporate Leadership
American Economic Review
vol. 101,
no. 3, May 2011
(pp. 635-39)
Abstract
This paper examines the role of women helping women in corporate America. Using a merged panel of directors and executives for large US corporations between 1997 and 2009, we find a positive association between the female share of the board of directors in the previous year and the female share among current top executives. The relationship's timing suggests that causality runs from boards to managers and not the reverse. This pattern of women helping women at the highest levels of firm leadership highlights the continued importance of a demand-side "glass ceiling" in explaining the slow progress of women in business.Citation
Matsa, David A., and Amalia R. Miller. 2011. "Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling: Gender Spillovers in Corporate Leadership." American Economic Review, 101 (3): 635-39. DOI: 10.1257/aer.101.3.635JEL Classification
- G34 Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Voting; Proxy Contests; Corporate Governance
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- J71 Labor Discrimination
- M12 Personnel Management; Executive Compensation