The Gender Gap in Self-Promotion

104 Pages Posted: 7 Oct 2019 Last revised: 26 Jun 2023

See all articles by Christine L Exley

Christine L Exley

Harvard University

Judd B. Kessler

University of Pennsylvania - Business & Public Policy Department

Date Written: October 2019

Abstract

In applications, interviews, performance reviews, and many other environments, individuals subjectively describe their ability and performance to others. We run a series of experiments, involving over 4,000 participants from online labor markets and over 10,000 school-aged youth. We find a large gender gap in self-promotion: Women subjectively describe their ability and performance to potential employers less favorably than equally performing men. Even when all incentives to promote are removed, however, the gender gap remains. The gender gap in self-promotion is reflective of an underlying gender gap in how individuals subjectively evaluate their own performance. This underlying gender gap proves persistent and arises as early as the sixth grade.

Suggested Citation

Exley, Christine L and Kessler, Judd B., The Gender Gap in Self-Promotion (October 2019). NBER Working Paper No. w26345, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3465362

Christine L Exley (Contact Author)

Harvard University ( email )

Judd B. Kessler

University of Pennsylvania - Business & Public Policy Department ( email )

3641 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6372
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://bepp.wharton.upenn.edu/profile/1671/

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