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American Economic Review Vol. 101 No. 3 2011

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

David A. Matsa1; Amalia R. Miller2

1 Finance Department, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2001 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208. · 2 Economics Department, University of Virginia, and RAND Corporation, 237 McCormick Road, Charlottesville, VA 22904.

Abstract

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

DOI
10.1257/aer.101.3.635
Volume
101
Issue
3
Pages
635-639
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref openalex

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