Perceptions of Gender Diversity in Occupations
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 113,
May 2023
(pp. 436-39)
Abstract
We design a survey experiment to investigate the effect of intervention with diversity on preferences for diverse outcomes. First, subjects report their perceptions of the archetypical occupations boss, professor, nurse, and clerk, rating boss/professor as higher status than nurse/clerk. Importantly, while respondents expect overrepresentation of women among nurses and clerks, they expect a relatively equal gender distribution among bosses and professors. We then randomize participants to view either diverse or nondiverse images for each occupation. Diversifying the image sets significantly increases the likelihood of underrepresented individuals being selected in both domains, but correctness of preexisting beliefs only matters in female-typed domains.Citation
Flory, Jeffrey, Andreas Leibbrandt, Olga Shurchkov, Olga Stoddard, and Alva Taylor. 2023. "Perceptions of Gender Diversity in Occupations." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 113: 436-39. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231062Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- C90 Design of Experiments: General
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- M51 Personnel Economics: Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions