More Women in Tech? Evidence from a Field Experiment Addressing Social Identity
51 Pages Posted: 29 Oct 2018
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More Women in Tech? Evidence from a Field Experiment Addressing Social Identity
More Women in Tech? Evidence from a Field Experiment Addressing Social Identity
Abstract
This paper investigates whether social identity considerations-through beliefs and normsdrive women's occupational choices. We implement two field experiments with potential applicants to a five-month software-coding program offered to women from low-income backgrounds in Peru and Mexico. When we correct the perception that women cannot succeed in technology by providing role models, information on returns and access to a female network, application rates double and the self-selection patterns change. Analysis of those patterns suggests that identity considerations act as barriers to entering the technology sector and that some high-cognitive skill women do not apply because of their high identity costs.
Keywords: occupational segregation, social norms, identity
JEL Classification: J16, J24, D91
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