DP16002 Representation is Not Sufficient for Selecting Gender Diversity

Author(s):	Justus Baron, Bernhard Ganglmair, Nicola Persico, Timothy Simcoe, Emanuele Tarantino
Publication Date:	April 2021
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Programme Areas:	Organizational Economics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=16002

Representation of women and minorities in a "selectorate" â?? the group that chooses an organization's leaders â?? is a key mechanism for promoting diversity. We show that representation, on its own, is not sufficient for selecting gender diversity: a supportive organizational culture is also required. In the case of the Internet Engineering Task Force, a random increase in female representation in its selection committee caused an increase in female appointments only after cultural norms supporting diversity and inclusion became more salient.