Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling: Gender Spillovers in Corporate Leadership

American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, Forthcoming

11 Pages Posted: 16 Nov 2010 Last revised: 28 Jan 2011

See all articles by David A. Matsa

David A. Matsa

Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Amalia R. Miller

University of Virginia - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: January 17, 2011

Abstract

This paper examines the role of women helping women in corporate America. Using a merged panel of directors and executives for large U.S. 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.

JEL Classification: G34, M51, J16, J71

Suggested Citation

Matsa, David A. and Miller, Amalia R., Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling: Gender Spillovers in Corporate Leadership (January 17, 2011). American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1709462

David A. Matsa (Contact Author)

Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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Amalia R. Miller

University of Virginia - Department of Economics ( email )

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United States

HOME PAGE: http://people.virginia.edu/~am5by/

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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