Publications

March 2019
Article

Beliefs about Gender

By: Pedro Bordalo, Katherine Baldiga Coffman, Nicola Gennaioli and Andrei Shleifer

We conduct laboratory experiments that explore how gender stereotypes shape beliefs about ability of oneself and others in different categories of knowledge. The data reveal two patterns. First, men’s and women’s beliefs about both oneself and others exceed observed... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Perspective; Prejudice and Bias; Gender

2022
Working Paper

Gender Inequality and the Direction of Ideas: Evidence from the Weinstein Scandal and #MeToo

By: Hong Luo and Laurina Zhang

How do the Harvey Weinstein scandal and #MeToo affect women’s likelihood of working in male-dominated domains and the types of ideas developed in Hollywood? To discern these events’ impact, we exploit the variation in whether a producer previously collaborated with... View Details

Keywords: Gender Inequality; Gender Segregation; Social Movement; Direction Of Innovation; Creative Industries; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Social Issues; Creativity; Film Entertainment

10 Oct 2014
News

Ending Gender Discrimination Requires More than a Training Program

13 May 2015
News

Discussing gender diversity

13 Sep 2013
News

Educate Everyone About Second-Generation Gender Bias

Keywords: Herminia Ibarra; Deborah Kolb; Ely, Robin; gender; bias; women in business; Management

13 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

When Gender Changes the Negotiation

irony that three of her seven direct reports would make more than she would in the coming year; she herself had accepted a small cost-of-living raise without question. If getting a raise was so easy, why hadn't she made a case for herself? Is it possible that her View Details

Keywords: by Dina W. Pradel, Hannah Riley Bowles & Kathleen L. McGinn

March 2020
Article

Gender Differences in Communicative Abstraction

By: Priyanka D. Joshi, Cheryl J. Wakslak, Gil Appel and Laura Huang

Drawing on construal level theory, which suggests that experiencing a communicative audience as proximal rather than distal leads speakers to frame messages more concretely, we examine gender difference in linguistic abstraction. In a meta-analysis of prior studies... View Details

Keywords: Construal Level Theory; Psychological Distance; Gender; Communication; Leadership

25 Feb 2019
Research & Ideas

How Gender Stereotypes Kill a Woman’s Self-Confidence

Women make up more than half of the labor force in the United States and earn almost 60 percent of advanced degrees, yet they bring home less pay and fill fewer seats in the C-suite than men, particularly in male-dominated professions like finance and technology. This... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

February 2009
Article

Beyond Gender and Negotiation to Gendered Negotiations

By: Deborah M. Kolb and Kathleen L. McGinn

Keywords: Negotiation; Gender

We conceptualize leadership development as identity work and show how subtle forms of gender bias in the culture and in organizations interfere with the identity work of women leaders. Based on this insight, we revisit traditional approaches to standard leadership... View Details

January 2025
Module Note

Understanding and Addressing Gender Gaps

By: Katherine Coffman

This module provides a framework for students to analyze how gender stereotypes, through their impact on beliefs about others and beliefs about ourselves, contribute to gender gaps in the workplace. The module proceeds in three parts. First, through a case and an... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Gender; Leadership; Management Practices and Processes; Prejudice and Bias

Purchase

23 Dec 2019
News

The gender gap in self-promotion

Web

Race, Gender & Equity

Built For Change Advancing knowledge, educating leaders, and bridging research & practice Race, Gender & Equity Initiative The Race, Gender & Equity Initiative catalyzes and translates cutting-edge research... View Details

08 Dec 2016
Video

HBS Gender Initiative: A Year in Review

18 May 2015
News

Harvard Business School Launches Gender Initiative

January 2022
Article

Determinants of Gender Differences in Change in Pay among Job-Switching Executives

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and Eric Lin

The authors investigate what determines differences in change in pay between men and women executives who move to new employers. Using proprietary data of 2,034 executive placements from a global search firm, the authors observe narrower pay differences between men and... View Details

Keywords: Executive Pay; Executive Labor Market; Gender Pay Gap; External Recruitment; Executive Compensation; Gender; Human Capital

Purchase

Forthcoming
Article

Non-Binary Gender Economics

By: Katherine B. Coffman, Lucas C. Coffman and Keith Marzilli Ericson

Economics research has largely overlooked non-binary individuals. We aim to jump-start the literature by providing data on several economically-important beliefs and preferences. Among many results, non-binary individuals report more gender-based discrimination and... View Details

Keywords: Inclusion; Gender; Prejudice and Bias; Personal Characteristics

2019
Article

When Gender Diversity Makes Firms More Productive

By: Stephen Turban, Dan Wu and Letian Zhang

Does diversity make a company more productive? Many say yes—some researchers argue that gender diversity leads to more innovative thinking and signals to investors that a company is competently run. Others say no—conflicting research indicates that gender diversity can... View Details

Keywords: Gender; Diversity; Performance; Performance Productivity