Publications

SSRN

2022
Other Teaching and Training Material

Organizational Behavior Reading: Managing Differences

By: Robin Ely and Colleen Ammerman

This reading provides principles and practices managers can draw upon to leverage differences in social identities - such as gender and race - to create more effective work relationships, teams, and organizations. The Essential Reading's first section draws upon... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Groups and Teams; Prejudice and Bias; Identity; Management Practices and Processes

March–April 2020
Article

An Institutional Approach to Gender Diversity and Firm Performance

By: Letian Zhang

This study examines data from 35 countries and 24 industries to understand the relationship between gender diversity and firm performance. Previous studies report conflicting evidence: some find that gender-diverse firms experience more positive performance and others... View Details

Keywords: Institutional Theory; Cross-cultural; Diversity; Gender; Organizations; Performance; Situation or Environment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

21 Feb 2013
Research & Ideas

HBS Research Focuses on Gender Issues and Fixes

—should business leaders and policymakers do about the gender disparity? Research by Professor Boris Groysberg and colleagues shows that male and female board members have very different takes on the issue... View Details

23 Mar 2016
Research & Ideas

Researchers Prove C-Suite Gender Gap—but Can’t Explain It

Here’s some bad news and some worse news for women who aspire to the executive suite. The bad news is that there’s a huge gender gap in top corporate positions, both in terms of the number of female executives and how much money they make... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

Article

The Power in Demography: Women's Social Constructions of Gender Identity at Work

By: R. J. Ely

This study examined how women's proportional representation in the upper echelons of organizations affects professional women's social constructions of gender difference and gender identity at work. Qualitative and quantitative data were used. Results suggest that sex... View Details

Keywords: Demographics; Gender; Labor

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Jenny (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Jenny (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-050, we learn that Jenny's boss is woman who thought the entire incident was funny. Jenny wonders whether to confront her boss about her discomfort with the situation. View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Employees; Gender; Conflict and Resolution

17 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

‘Chick Beer’ for Women? Why Gender Marketing Repels More Than Sells

balks at marketing vitamins for women and vitamins for men because, ostensibly, that makes sense; there’s a justifiable difference between the vitamins recommended for men and women,” Barasz says. But the research team says, in general,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products

November 2007
Case

Differences at Work: Emily (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Emily (A) HBS Case No. 9-408-014 Emily, a private equity analyst, reads disturbing, sexually focused emails written about her by work colleagues and acquaintances after they all attended a work-related social event. Emily debates what she should... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Gender

Educators

04 Nov 2015
What Do You Think?

Why Does Gender Diversity Improve Financial Performance?

mean that gender diversity necessarily accounts for much if any of the performance. On the other hand, a number of studies have compared the management styles of women and men. Even though there is a wide overlap on most dimensions among... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

10 Nov 2022
Research & Ideas

Too Nice to Lead? Unpacking the Gender Stereotype That Holds Women Back

If you’re a woman in the workplace, chances are your boss and colleagues expect you to be nicer than your male peers, new research suggests. And that perception could contribute to differences in which jobs you are hired for, which tasks... View Details

Keywords: by Shalene Gupta

29 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

The COVID Gender Gap: Why Fewer Women Are Dying

significant gender difference remained: 40 percent of women still saw the virus as a serious risk, compared to 33 percent of men. [div class=infogram-embed data-id=_/AkulDYxzkz4kcreDiuNc][/div] "The numbers... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health

April 2013
Article

Gendered Races: Implications for Interracial Marriage, Leadership Selection, and Athletic Participation

By: Adam D. Galinsky, Erika V. Hall and Amy J.C. Cuddy

Six studies explored the overlap between racial and gender stereotypes and the consequences of this overlap for interracial dating, leadership selection, and athletic participation. Two initial studies, utilizing explicit and implicit measures, captured the stereotype... View Details

Keywords: Stereotypes; Attraction; Prejudice and Bias; Leadership; Race; Attitudes; Family and Family Relationships; Sports; Gender; United States

February 2024
Article

Are Many Sex/Gender Differences Really Power Differences?

By: Adam D. Galinsky, Aurora Turek, Grusha Agarwal, Eric M. Anicich, Derek D. Rucker, Hannah Riley Bowles, Nira Liberman, Chloe Levin and Joe C Magee

This research addresses the long-standing debate about the determinants of sex/gender differences. Evolutionary theorists trace many sex/gender differences back to natural selection and sex-specific adaptations. Sociocultural and biosocial theorists, in contrast,... View Details

Keywords: Gender; Genetics; Power and Influence; Social Issues

07 Feb 2020
Working Paper Summaries

The Old Boys' Club: Schmoozing and the Gender Gap

Keywords: by Zoë B. Cullen and Ricardo Perez-Truglia

November 2007
Case

Differences at Work: Allie (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

On a business trip, Allie's boss demands that she and a colleague skip planned company meetings and "meet him at the beach in their bikinis." View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Managerial Roles; Ethics; Gender; Diversity; Power and Influence

November 2007 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Differences at Work: Will (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

A colleague makes a stereotypical remark about gays that Will, an out gay man, knows to be wrong. He struggles with how to correct the senior colleague. View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Behavior; Ethics; Employees; Gender; Diversity; Power and Influence

Educators

2021
Working Paper

Supply- and Demand-Side Effects in Performance Appraisals: The Role of Gender and Race

By: Iris Bohnet, Oliver P. Hauser and Ariella Kristal

Performance reviews in firms are common but controversial. Managers’ subjective appraisals of their employees’ performance and employees’ self-evaluations might be affected by demographic characteristics, interact with each other as self-evaluations are typically... View Details

Keywords: Performance Appraisals; Gender; Race; Performance Evaluation

November 2007 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Differences at Work: Martin (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

Martin, a gay man who was not out at his Italian firm, witnesses his division manager deliver a homophobic comment to his boss. He wonders what he should do. View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Behavior; Managerial Roles; Ethics; Gender; Diversity; Power and Influence