Politics and Gender in the Executive Suite
55 Pages Posted: 25 Mar 2020 Last revised: 25 Nov 2020
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Politics and Gender in the Executive Suite
Politics and Gender in the Executive Suite
Date Written: March 2020
Abstract
This study investigates whether CEOs' political preferences are associated with the representation and compensation of women among non-CEO top executives at U.S. public companies. We find that CEOs who more strongly identify with the Republican party are associated with fewer women in the executive suite. To explore causality, we use an event study approach to show that replacing a Republican with a Democratic CEO increases female representation in the executive suite. Finally, gender gaps in the level and performance-sensitivity of compensation are larger under Republican CEOs. Our results are consistent with no such gaps existing in companies run by Democratic CEOs.
JEL Classification: G30, J16, J30, J33, J71, K00, M12, M14, M51, M52
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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